New Game, New life
by Adudefromthesea
Summary: Self insert, Gamer Powers, Magic, Yokais, Hentai Ninjas, Gangs, Over Dramatic Teenage Gang Warfare, Gender-bender Martial Artists, Bitter rivals, Crazy suitors, Good deeds, Mad Profits, Waifus, Madness, More Waifus, Gods, Demons, Politics, Supernatural Politics, Mayhem, Even more Waifus, And copious amounts of funny tasting breads, Oh my! [Self-Insert] [Gamer Powers] [Multicross]
1. Chapter 1

**Read This First:**For those who don't follow my snippets thread, this originated there. The first two chapter are there and will be identical to the ones here, because I'm a lazy fuck. Give me some time to polish and I will be dropping chapter 3 in a couple of hours, this one will be new.

* * *

Chapter 01

* * *

Once you find yourself trapped inside an out of control crazy train, all you can do is enjoy the ride. That was the sentiment that was carrying me throughout the day.

"Ahh, where is it? I swear I put it somewhere around…"

The small, porky vice-principal was rummaging through his messy officer desk in search of my application. He looked as unprepared to deal with me as I was to deal with my day… almost if my and my family's entire existence was suddenly inserted into this new reality, and now the innocent people just following their ordinary fates were getting confused as fuck every time I get too close.

Oh, and of course, just to crown things out, there were words floating above his balding head.

**Ishiyama Daisuke  
Furinkan High's overworked vice principal.****  
Level: 08**

Gamer powers, because why not?

"Meehh, there it is, ah, Ōe-kun." He says, reading from some documents I'm sure didn't exist until today, "I'm so very sorry for the delay. You have come in an awfully busy time I'm afraid, haha." He tried to laugh it off.

By the state of his office, I reckon every day is an 'awfully busy day' for this guy…

I sighed, halting this thought process, no use taking it on a guy who was just trying to do his job.

"Yes, Ishiyama-vice principal, I understand and apologize for my family's unreasonable request," I say, letting the instinctual Japanese politeness that came packed in this new body slip through.

"No, no, it was no problem at all! In fact, everything seems to be in order." He places down the documents without more than a passing glance, but I was expecting something like this. It was for the same reason the vice presided himself was greeting me; the Ōes, this mysterious family I was now part of, were apparently filthy rich. "Now, now Ōe-kun, I'm happy to inform you your application has been accepted. Welcome to the Furinkan family!"

"Thank you very much, Ishiyama-vice principal."

He smiled at my politeness, probably thinking I would be no trouble at all. Boy, he could not be more wrong; I am a Gamer sponsored by a ROB and now a resident of Tokyo's Nerima ward of anime Japan in the early nineties. I dread to think about the amount of trouble I'll cause by merely existing.

Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt being polite. Vice-principal certainly seems to think so by the way he enthusiastically bounced up from his chair.

"Wonderful! Now, if you would follow me, I'll escort to your classroom."

And quietly explain my presence to the confused teacher, no doubt.

We were about a few steps into the corridor when he abruptly stops, the back of his neck suddenly dripping beads of sweat, body paralyzed mid-stride, and looking as tense as he could ever get. As if he has just remembered something horrible and has also just fucked something up.

And that was about the time the distant shouts started.

"TENDO AKANE! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!"

"LET'S US MAKE A STRIKE OF LOVE!"

"LET'S DANCE THE BOULEVARD OF PASSION!"

The shouts continued, but now they were accompanied by the sorrowful noise of flesh bruising, bone-breaking, and hearts shattering.

I lean into the window, watching the admittedly impressive sight of a short, blue-haired girl mowing down an entire crowd of fit guys like she was the star of a bad kung fu flick.

"… Ah." There is nothing to say. I was suspecting something like that would happen ever since I figure out where I was, but to see it first hand was… an experience. "She's good?" I commented, also catching the distant sight of the boy in a red chinese shirt gopnik squatting on the wall. Of course, he would be there too. "Does this happen often?"

"Ahhnn." He moaned nasally, Japanese bowing in my direction. "I'm so so very sorry."

Then Tatewaki Kuno appeared, the sky darkened, and the world became a little crazier.

I got a feeling I'll be saying that a lot.

-0-0-0-

There was something to be said about this reincarnation. I mean, I'm a squishy human now, but with the Gamer that could easily change, yet there is no… overall threat I would need the gamer to deal with. This might feel presumptuous, but I think being the Gamer in a universe that was basically a slapstick comedy was kind of a waste.

The students of Class 1-F stared at us, probably marveling at the oddity of not one but two transfer students getting in their class at the same time… or marveling at Ranma Saotome's muscles. Say what you will about the boy, but he was built like a lean warmachine, and it showed.

I wanted to sigh. My poor inferior muscles, I was so happy you were at least there this morning. Outclassed by the protagonist.

"It seems we have two new students today." The forgettable teacher stated in case there's still any doubt. "Their names are Saotome Ranma-kun and Ōe Hiroshi-kun, and it seems that Ranma has just returned from a trip to China, so let's all be sure to give him a big 'Nihao' now." He laughed at his own joke without even changing the tone of his voice.

Every single person in this room, including Ranma and me, engaged in the obligatory reaction to any and all teachers joke: staring blankly ahead until he finished laughing and making us sad.

"Hehehehehe…Ahn, well, maybe be not…" You think? "Be that as it may, it doesn't excuse the fact that he and Akane were late, so go stand in the hall you two. Ah, Ōe-kun, you may sit at the free seat near the window."

It was easy to see who Akane was, even among Anime Japan's more diverse hair colors blue still stand out a lot, that and the fact that she was one of the most attractive girls in the class. I could her features trembling in anger, but it quickly disappeared as she reins her feelings back in. Ranma just shrugged; in fact, he even seems happy for not having to stay in a classroom.

I sat on my protagonist chair and let my thoughts wander off from the protagonists for a bit, mostly because I had… other things to worry about.

My eyes slid to the right.

**Fujimori Yuka  
Yakuza Princess  
Level: 05**

**Himiko Kenji  
Vegan Werewolf  
Level: 09**

**Tomo Sakura  
Budding witch  
Level: 08**

**Gosunkugi Hikaru  
Voodoo enthusiast****  
Level: 02**

My eyes slid forward.

**Katagiri Sayuri  
Closet****Masochist****  
Level: 05**

**Kuroba Daisuke  
Aspiring Superhero  
Level: 07**

**Koba Satoru  
Evil Genius  
Level: 07**

**Koike Miiko  
Murderous Yandere  
Level: 10**

Finally, I sneak a look at the chubby boy sitting behind me.

**Onigiri Kouki  
Furry****  
Level: 01**

Dear god…

There isn't anyone in this class that isn't a freak in some way!

**New Quest: Memories of youth.  
**_**Your class is full of new and interesting people. Get involved in their lives and make precious memories along the way.**_**  
Reward:**

**100.000 exp.**

**Increase relationship with every member of class 1-F.**

**Failure:**

**Become a social outcast.**

**Deadline: Until next the school year.  
Accept/Refuse.**

So there you are quest system, where were you when I was doing the dishes or cleaning the apartment, you know, easy shit to start the game with! But noooo, fuck tutorial! Let's give this fucker a year-long quest that requires him to dive headfirst into Nerima madness, and let's tempt him with a shit load of exp to his level 01 ass while at it.

Whatever, the exp is not that tempting.

… I'm in control, damn it!

**Quest accepted!**

Don't judge me!

"Ranma Saotome!" A strong, prideful voice could be heard from the corridor, hell, it could be heard from the other side of the school even. It was easily able to overtake the droning lecture from the teacher. "I won't allow it!"

"This engagement of your to Tendo Akane. I, TATEWAKI KUNO, SHALL NEVER, EVER ALLOW IT!"

There was a moment of silence so the appropriate pin could drop. Then a stampede of hormonal, drama-deprived, Japanese teenagers trampled their way to the classroom's windows and partially tore it open to woe, curse and generally shout at the new couple and the crazy samurai outside.

"Ahh! C-Calm down, Calm down, we're still in class!" The teacher tried to plead to the crowd, but his monotonous voice was lost in the screaming commotion.

The only ones not by the windows were me, who was still sitting on my chair, and Gosunkugi Hikaru, who was twitching on the ground after being trampled half to death.

I sighed.

Gosunkugi twitched.

Well, at least Ramna is doing a good job keeping the budding Nerima bullshit from spilling out on me.

… And of course, that was the time my body decided to shiver as a sensation I'd never felt before drew my attention to a specific direction.

**Skill created: Spiritual Senses, level 01.  
**_**A skill shared by people sensitive to exoteric energy, allows you to detect supernatural creatures and phenomenon in your vicinity.**_

The fuck?

**New Quest: Like, onmyoji and shit…  
**_**A mischievous Yokai has entered the premises, do something about it!**_**  
Rewards:**

**500 exp.**

**Failure:**

**A wave of misfortune cast over Furinkan High's student population.**

**Possible injury or death.**

**Three girls traumatized for life.**

**Deadline: Until the end of the school day.  
Accept/Refuse.**

I slowly placed a hand over my face and groaned. Of course, even thinking like that would provoke the universe; this is goddamn Nerima after all.

Fine! Ok! I'm already ass deep in bullshit anyway, what a few more centimeters gonna do.

-0-0-0-

It was easy to sneak away while the whole school was distracted with Ranma ½ shenanigans, it was even easier to find the equipment shed and help myself in. Soon I was exiting it with a nice aluminum baseball bat, and a bulky nailgun.

The rest was simply following this new… sense. It was like a little bird chirping in the back of your head, or an annoying bee buzzing in your ear, I couldn't shut it down, and it was distracting as fuck, but at least I had a general feel of where to go.

**Spiritual Senses leveled up!**

Yeah yeah.

My new skill led me to a fire staircase discretely positioned beside the building, away from the front entrance and a short distance from where Ranma and Kuno were going at it if the giant pillar of water was any indication. There was a bubble of distorted reality in the middle.

Seriously, it was like a giant, man-sized glass ball that was distorting the light around it, the images of a continuing stairway contracting and expanding inside its transparent form. I poked it with my baseball bat, causing ripples of distortion to softly traverse the surface.

Alright then, here it goes nothing.

**You have entered an Illusion Barrier.**

The first thing that was apparent was the sound, or rather, the lack of it. People really take for granted the small sounds that make up the background noise of their life. The chirps of birds, buzzing of insects, breathing of other people, even the distant urban noises of a moving city were all components of what people would consider an average hearing experience. Pieces so familiar that they fell out of conscious thought in favor of more immediate noise.

But take _that_ away, and it's _impossible_ not to notice. It was unnatural, unbalancing, and just plain creepy.

I stood on the next step of the stair I would have taken in the 'real' world. Existing on a Furinkan high school of another, empty, reality. With my new annoying senses bearing down on me from every direction.

I had to grab the rails of the stair for support, trying to steady my unbalancing legs, my eyes closed as I pushed the wrongness of the lack of noise to the side while I tried to make sense of the new storm that was my supernatural senses.

It's twigging like mad because I'm _inside_ a supernatural phenomenon, but it can't help me like this.

I spend a few minutes just focusing on breathing, calming the body and mind just enough so I could function.

**Spiritual Senses leveled up!**

**Spiritual Senses leveled up!**

That's better.

Pushing through the wave, I took my first steps and made my way through the empty school.

Not so empty school apparently, but not in any way that would lessen the creepy factor. There were… images? Impressions? Ghost of students walking through the corridors, talking animatedly in voices only they could hear, conglomerating on the windows to watch the fight, or make sense of the aftermath now.  
It was on the first floor, the third years' floor for some reason, that I found the 'yokai'.

"Kiki! Ki ki KI!" The tiny creature cried enthusiastically as it knuckled it's way behind a female image and looked up her skirt.

Whatever I was expecting from the yokai, it wasn't this. Hell, it looked more like an ugly pokemon than it did a monster of Japanese legend, and it also wore a white buddhist monk uniform for some reason.

**Infant****Satori****  
Vagrant Yokai  
Level 05**

You got to be kidding me, right? The thing's the size of a rat. It's a hairy monkey the size of a rat! Fuck, I thought it would be a tiger monster or something.

The creature, a Satori apparently, followed behind the class as they got into their seats, for a moment I was creeped out by the vision of a ghostly classroom before focusing back on the little creature.

I followed behind the Satori as it flipped beneath the desks and made a few ghostly images flinch.

That makes me raise an eyebrow. It can interact with the ghost? I can't do that.

"Fuck." I cursed as I lost sight of the thing in one of its dashes, now I have to crouch and look beneath each desk.

I did that… and frankly, I don't understand what the monkey's excitement was all about, it just looked like a blue-ish outline between the girl's legs for me, like the kind you'd find in a naked Barbie doll or something. But then again, I don't understand the japaneses' obsession with panties in general. I was always much more interested in what they hid.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to find the…

The ghost of the girl was slowly curling over herself, her notebook raised to hide the expression she was making, and by the hand on her mouth, the sounds she was letting out. Her other hand was crunching her skirt, trying to set it down while the monkey creature lodged it's head deep between her legs.

Ok, that's just not right.

"Hey! Cut that out!" I said harshly, maneuvering my baseball bat through the girl's ghostly hips and peeled the thing out of her.

"KiKI! KikikiKIIII!" It screeched loudly as it fell to the floor and started to throw a tantrum. I was about to kick it in annoyance when it suddenly snapped a murderous glare in my direction.

Hoh, it wants a go?

I tightened my grip and readied my bat, let's do this!

-0-0-0-

"THIS IS NOT HOW IT SUPPOSE TO GO!"

"KIKIKIIIIIII!"

I ran/hopped away from the little devil. Reaching and throwing my body hard against a window, it promptly shattered all over me and left fun little wounds as I made a bad landing on the other side, I didn't care about that as I force myself to my feet and continued to run.

Humans can ignore an amazing amount of pain when they are trying to stay alive, but I've got to say the wound in my inner thigh, where a piece of me has been _bitten off_ was really starting to bug me.

I have Gamer body, why the fuck I'm getting all bloody-UFF!

"KIKI!" Screeched the hairy cannonball as it threw us to the floor and sank its fangs in my shoulder

"AH!" I screamed as I practically hear the flesh tearing more than I felt, probably shock and adrenaline working its magic. I twisted, trying to pin the monster with my weight only to cry out as it crawled away, making me brush my new wound on the dirt.

I moved, thrashing about was the creature roamed all over me like a squirrel hooked on caffeine, biting and scratching and making me _bleed._

Like with the baseball bat, it managed to slip around every single one of my strikes like it was reading my damn mind, my every attempt to get rid of it was met only with blood and pain.

Only my quick thinking kept me alive, and by that, I mean I blocked its access to my neck with my arm and hand, but it left practically everything else the open.

"GET OFF!"

"KIKIKIIII!"

I can't. I couldn't.

We rolled around like crazy, each moment the monkey causing more painful injuries sinking its fangs a bit deeper.

"NONONO!"

It wasn't supposed to be this way. I was the goddamn gamer! I'm a Gamer in a possible self-insert story! I can't-

"KIKIIII!"

I can _die_ like this-ITS IN MY FACE GODDAMN IT'S IN MY FACE!

I shook my head madly, the monkey screamed and thrashed with me. Overwhelming pain exploded from my left side; I could feel the blood dripping down madly over my cheek and ear, it's metallic scent mixing with the monkey's reek.

I screamed.

It was hurting me. It was killing me. It was freaking _eating_ me!

"NO NO FUCK GET ME AWAY FROM IT HELP HELP GET ME AWAY!"

**Skill created: Illusion barrier escape lvl 01.  
**_**Allow you to escape from Illusion Barriers that are empty or only have low-level monsters.**_

And suddenly, it was no more. I lay there, on Furikan high's grass field, catching my breaths and looking at the blue sky with a single eye, my ears blasting with the wonderful noise of the world in full movement.

It felt like an eternity before I moved again, slowly raising my arm towards my mangled face and over my eye.

… I didn't cry, I just… gather my bearing for a while…

**Skill created: Meditation lvl 01.  
**_**Raises your mental focus and increase your Hp and Mp regeneration as long as you don't move.**_

-0-0-0-

Turn out I did have the fucking Gamer Body. I mean, I knew that as I had read it before, but only _now_it decided to appear.

In all seriousness, it seems I have a more 'realistic' version of the Gamer body; my health _is_ regulated by my HP, but my 'apparent damage' is also tied to it, meaning I would really experience every wound as it dipped my HP down, and feel every pain that it entails.

It was not all gloom and doom; it was still _The Gamer Body_, so it was still bullshit: All my fatigue utterly vanished after a short rest, and my HP regenerated from red to full health in about twenty minutes. And because my 'apparent damage' is tied to my HP, I was now good as new, complete with a brand new eye and everything.

So, slightly less bullshit than the usual Gamer, but still Bullshit.

I used my baseball bat to prop me up, how I managed to keep a hold of the thing only god knew. I had dropped the nailgun though, but it was bulky and heavy and practically useless when your target is a tiny monkey that could move like a pinball.

My uniform was bloody and in tatters, even if the body beneath was clean and pristine. I looked over the gaps in the fabric and the bloody scratch holes and trembled.

Something tried to eat me. There was a sort of primordial fear in that.

It's time to… retreat.

No way I'm fighting that thing again. No, I shouldn't have been fighting it in the first place. I mean, I just got into a fight with a genuine monster with a baseball bat and no training, just… _what the fuck was I thinking!?_ The difference in levels alone should have been enough to tell me how much of a bad idea it was… Yeah, No, just no, I'll search for something to kill that is more around my level, get stronger first _before_ throwing myself into crazy shit like that again.

With this resolve in mind, I start walking, no use going back to class with my uniform in this state, I'll just have to bear with the teachers' disappointment for now.

As I walked, I started to… recall the 'fight', I was doing good really, just with one or two fearful shudders, nothing to write home about, but yeah, not putting myself in a situation like that ever again.

But then I remember… the text about the consequences of failure… and what the monkey was doing with the girl.

I stopped — the wind rustling like a dramatic scene from an overacted Japanese soap opera.

Fuck… I… I don't really have a choice, do I?

"CHE! 'Go find water on your own!' Why!? All I did was give her some pointers! Tsk, that… uncute tomboy!"

And just like that, a raspy but not at all unpleasant to hear female voice echoed in the distance, getting closer.

I sighed, surrendering to this destiny with the corner of my mouth curling just a tiny bit. I should have known…

I looked up and saw the _very_attractive red-hair walking and grumbling on the path opposite to mine. Her red Chinese shirt was damp and molding over an impressive bust that looked even bigger due to her short stature. She had her pants draped over her shoulder for some reason, leaving her gleaming, sculptured legs free to all leering eyes. Bits of male underwear showed itself from under the hem of her shirt in each step.

**Saotome Ranma****  
Cursed martial artist****  
Level: 25**

She, He?... fuck it, she paused when our ways inevitably crossed, her eyebrows raising at the state of my uniform. "The hell happened to you?" Were her first words to me.

"I'm having a really, really shitty day." I explained slowly, and that earned me a sympathetic snort; "You're Saotome Ranma, right?"

"Yeah-I mean!" The martial artist suddenly twisted her body into an innocent stance, her big blue eyes blinking in adorable confusion. "Saotome Ranma? I don't know who that is, mister~."

I shook my head. "I'm familiar with magic, kinda. And I saw what happened after you fell in that pool earlier." Well, not personally, but I had seen this very event on my tv about seventeen years ago.

She held on to the façade for a few more seconds before she clicked her tongue annoyingly. "Agh! If I'd know I was already busted to the whole school I'd have kicked that damn samurai way harder."

"To be fair, I don't think people made the connection yet." I shifted my weight between my feet, resting my baseball bat on my shoulder. "Say… are you up to hunting a yokai that's haunting the school?"

Because if siccing the highest-level person in the region on the monkey's ass didn't work, I don't know what would.

"Eh? Yokai?" She blinked.

"You know, like the legends-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what a Yokai is. Just never fought one before." Then she smiled and whoa, I could see why so many characters became smitten by this form. "Tell you what! You get me some warm water, and I'll help you out."

-0-0-0-

"This is fun!" Saotome Ranma, now a handsome teenage boy wearing pants, punched the thick wall of concrete, drilling his entire arm into it. Then, with an additional effort, he purposefully yanked his arm to the side, increasing the gap of destruction even more before pulling out.

I couldn't do anything but gawk at the martial artist's propensity for destruction, in a way it was a fascinating thing to see; the way a solid, unmoving object just crumbled away under the power of pure human strength, and how deep and fast the cracks could spread out across a construction. In another, it was really worrying that Ranma's first instinct after realizing he was in a pocket dimension was to 'test it out' by trying to bring down the school.

"Hey, Hiroshi!" The Japanese part of my brain frowned by the free use of first names. The rest didn't give a fuck. "You're sure nothing that happens to this school is going to happen to the real one, right!?" He asked for the third time.

"Pretty sure, I broke a few chairs and windows last time I was here, nothing was translated to the orther side."

All and all, Ranma was taking this whole 'whisk away to a pocket dimension' remarkably well… maybe a little too much to be honest.

I sighed.

"Hey Ranma, I don't want like a stick in the mud here, but we really need to get going, the yokai monster still around!"

"Right! Sorry sorry." He twisted and delivered one last kick at some of the still-standing debris, completing the structural damage he has caused on the main school building. It looked like what would happen if a truck invaded the school and isekai'ed an entire classroom, or if a wrecking ball decided to visit, or both.

"So, how we're gonna do this." He says, loosening his shoulders.

I closed my eyes, focusing on activating my new senses to discern between-

OH SHIT!

"ABOVE!" I shouted suddenly, fear gripping my heart as I threw myself to the side and out of the trajectory of that damn Satori.

"KIKIKIIIIIII!"

Not gonna lie, that sound almost made me lose control of my bowels.

But suddenly, the monkey noise from hell ended in a gurgling gasp and a meaty smack. I snapped my head from my new position on the ground, watching the tiny yokai bounce on the concrete floor in the distance and crash against the school's front gate.

"Is that the thing that was giving you so much trouble?" Ranma had his right leg casually raised in a 180-degree angle. "Man, you're kind of a wimp, you know that?"

I don't want to hear this from you, mister level 25.

"K…i…Ki…KIKI!" The tiny monkey yokai jumped back to its feet with a cry, spat a gobble of blood to the side, and entered in an honest-to-god kung fu stance. _"Kiki."_ It declared with a deep resolute-sounding tone.

"Ooh, it still wants to fight," Ranma answered by entering a stance of his own.

For the second time today, I bore witness to a scene right out of a kung-fu movie, only this time it was closer, faster, and a whole lot more impressive.

Seriously, I had always thought that those Chinese wuxia flicks where the actors hang by a rope to 'fly' around and fight looked silly as hell. But Ranma and the monkey yokai taught me what _true_aerial combat looked like; I had no other word to describe it other than _awesome._

"HYAHH!"

"KIKIIII!"

Still, even for me, it was clear who was winning; the Satori has received a direct hit from Ranma early and has apparently decided it wants nothing to do with that again; it was weaving and dodging his attacks while desperately trying to land one of its own. To its credit, it was doing an impressive job at that, especially against someone 20 levels above it. But it was clear it couldn't handle another hit.

"Stay still you freaking chimp!"

"KIKIIII!"

However, I could see how it was using Ranma's impatience against him.

The battle moved close to the school building, now the combatants weren't even touching the ground, preferring to meet in the air and somehow hop on the side of the building to keep altitude, concrete was cracking and glass was shattering everywhere.

I continued to watch all of that and progressively felt more and more useless.

I mean, is that what I wanted to do with myself? Watch by the sideline? It was a silly thought I know, and part of me wanted to blame on my new teenage brain but I knew better. I was doing the logical thing, hell the right thing even, but… Fuck, I didn't think my gamer adventure would start by me cheering on the sideline while the hero saved the day.

It… pissed me off a little.

So much so that I didn't even realize when my legs started to move and only came back to myself when I crossed the last steps of the school stairs, getting closer to the fight form inside the building.

What was I doing!? Fuck, I don't know, I don't know but…

"Ranma!" I stick my head out of the window and shouted. The really close, really dangerous fight continued, of course- no it changed slightly, I don't know how but I can kinda follow…

**Skill created: Battle eye lvl:01.  
Lets you seen the pattern of a fight and increase your field awareness.**

I see it! Ranma was leading it here!

My bat rose horizontally, I kept it in a 90-degree angle, both of my hands tightened around the handle and my back muscles tensed in preparation. My eyes never left the fighters; their movements were a blur, but the direction they were moving…

**Battle eye leveled up!**

Five seconds!

Four.

Three.

My bat trembled by the tension.

Two.

_ONE!_

"ARGHHH!" I shouted as I swung the bat with all my strength. It's aluminum length flew past the window frame in the apex of its arch, perfectly meeting the back of the furry form that happened to be leaping back on that _exact_moment. The yokai let out a yelp of pain that was so damn satisfying to hear and was launched forwards like a furry ball, only to have its ugly mug squashed by Ranma's knee.

_That_ brought it down.

I stood that breathing hard as Ranma finally stop edging gravity and let it do its work. Now alone in the corridor, I couldn't help but grin at the trembling waves that were assaulting my arms and the drops of blood that now painted my baseball bat.

Hot damn, that was a rush!

Remembering where I was, I wiped down some sweat over my brow and proceeded to rush back down the stairs.

Ranma was gopnik squatting in the middle of the courtyard when I emerged from the school building.

"Did you finish it?" I asked, rushing over… and finding the thing.

The Satori was… thrashing on the ground screeching and screaming madly, like it was having an epileptic attack. I could see droplets of blood spilling from the wound of its head, and for a moment I wondered if I knocked something important there.

"What's happening?" I asked out loud, Ranma shrugged on the side.

Then the noise it was making started to quiet down, and I don't mean it was stopping, I meant the volume of the screams was literally lowering. And then its body started fading away until it was gone.

It… left something behind.

"The hell?" Ranma comment as I walked closer to see what it was.

A sharp little fang with a cord tied to it, mean to be used as a collar, and 2.500 yen.

Heh, my monsters leave loot.

"Is that cash!?" Exclaimed the martial artist, seeing the notes in my hand, "Do yokais leave cash!?"

"Don't know, this was the first yokai I've seen."

"Wait, seriously?"

I looked at the loot, easily reaching a decision.

I pocked the collar and handed Ranma the money. Wasn't really scraping for money right now and knowing the bullshit that Ranma goes through, or will go through, he needs it more than me.

"Here."

"Sweeeet."

He didn't even question… I guess his father raised him well?

"Thanks for the help," I say.

"Hum?" He looked up from money and blinked. It took a few seconds for him to process what I had said. "Oh! Sure man, you're welcome." He _beamed._"It was fun!"

Chuckling at the guy's simple joy, I directed my attention to the pop-ups that were clogging my vision.

**Quest completed: +500 exp.**

**Level up!**

You damn right I did.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I pulled up another mental command and thanked the gods my version of the Gamer could be interacted mentally; otherwise, I would look like a crazy person.

**Ōe Hiroshi  
The Gamer  
Level 02  
Hp: 110/110.  
Mp: 360/360  
Str: 07  
End: 09  
Dex: 13  
Agi: 09  
Int: 05 (+30)  
Wis: 05 (+30)  
Cha: 19 (+20)  
Points available: 10  
Core Trait: Reincarnated soul.**

Hum, ok, so leveling up work on base 10. I get 10 new points to spend and 10 more points on HP and MP, that's… actually sounds pretty good escalation-wise. I could, for example, suddenly increase a particular stat 10 points if I'm in a pinch. But I'd prefer if I had a point of reference for the stats before I declare anything.

"Hey, Hiroshi."

"Hum?" I looked at the martial artist.

"Do you know how we get out of this place?" He grinned and waved the money he earned. "I'm up for some Takoyaki, what do you say?"

Was he inviting me? I smiled. "We still have classes, you know?"

"Ugh! Then let's stay here. Hey, wanna bet how quickly I can bring this building down?"

I chuckled, fumbling around with the felling of my Illusion barrier escape skill.

**Skill created: Illusion Barrier Erase.  
**_**Lets you erase Illusion Barriers that are empty or have monsters that have lower levels than you.**_

-0-0-0-

Thankfully, the rest of my fragmented school day went pretty normally. I even managed to dick around with some game system like Inventory and Equipment, and managed to figure out that I could mentally use the two to change clothes in a flash. Now I was walking back across the darkening streets of Nerima on the way to my new apartment.

The apartment I've woken up in and had the biggest freak out of my life. At the start of the day, I was dreading doing just about anything, but now I only wanted to go back there, marinate in the small tub for a while, and go to fucking sleep. Funny how things change in a single day.

It was nothing to write home about, definitely not a big ten plus stories building with large apartments or anything, just a well put together two stories building with exposed metal staircases, run by a kind, near deaf old woman who lived in the number one. Not at all where people would imagine the direct heir of a wealthy family would live.

Well, the Ōes, which I still know nothing about, apparently had a 'rite of passage' of sort: An Ōe child is to spend their high school years fending for themselves, with only tangential support from the family wealth and connections. It's supposed to be a rite of manhood or something I wasn't paying attention to the call I got from the head of the family lawyer team. I got to admit this is not a bad custom to have, putting a kid against the world young to make him grow up faster and tougher, but still, I would like some more parental involvement rather than a mother shopping in Paris and an eccentric father doing god know what in god knows where.

It works for me. In fact, it's ingenious; I get a place to stay, some support but not too much, parents too rich to bother with their child, and a family tradition that put some distance between me and the Japanese elites' social tango for a couple of years. Perfect place to be inserted into, eh ROB?

I sighed, climbing the metal stair to the second floor.

Gamer powers, Ranma 1/2, freaking Nerima, it still feels unreal, and not without reason. But what I've experienced today was terrible… and awesome.

I'm… kinda glad this is happening, I wanna see how far can I go with this, and this is a fun universe to live in, even if I don't remember much about the show.

But all that rumination wouldn't fill my stomach or take care of my tired bones, so warm bath and food here I goooo…

Of course Nerima wouldn't let my day end peacefully.

There was something- no, some_one_ lying on the ground right in front of the door to my apartment. They were a tangle of limbs awkwardly sprawling out in uncomfortable directions hidden under layers of thick, puffy clothes that made them look like a homeless person. Their extremely long, straight black hair was tangled all over their prone body like a horror movie, and their face was lying in a puddle of vomit.

To complete the picture there was a discarded bottle of hard sake close by, because the universe thought I've never seen a drunk person before and wanted to make sure.

I sighed, getting close… and deciding that the figure was either a woman or a trap because her hips were comically stuck high in the air and the thick fabric of the long skirt was molding over an ass so magnificent I refuse to believe it was attached to a man.

Now, the gamer power gives me another form of identification…

…

…What?

**Uehara Rin  
The Sparkling Taimanin  
Level: ?**

Tai… _Taimanin!?_

_What!?_

**New quest: Taking care of the depressed Taimanin.  
**_**A smoking hot woman is at your door, drunk, miserable, unconscious, and all-around vulnerable; you know what to do...**__**Be a captain save a hoe**__**a gentleman and take care of her for the night.**_**  
Rewards:**

**200 exp.**

**Vastly increase closeness with Uehara Rin**

**?**

**?**

**Failure:**

**Uehara Rin becomes suicidal**

**?**

**?**

_**Accept/Refuse.**_

_WHAT!?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning posted on the last thread: **a warning to the Taimanin fans, I'm a fairly new to the series as a whole I'm not very knowledged about it, plus I have limited free time and a intolerance for Visual Novels so yeah, I'm not very in deep, I made an effort to get a grasp on the world from various information around the net but that's also lacking (The lack of an official wiki annoys me greatly) my point is, I'm familiar with the world, the main villains, and the main taimanins (Asagi, Sakura, Yukikaze and basically everyone listed in the all trope page) but I don't have much knowledge about the lesser known taimanin, which Uehara Rin certainly is, so I most surely fucked her character here, I'm sorry if she is actually a underground fan favorite with a really well defined personality but I made shit up here, I hope it's entertaining at least.

Also I still plan to use lesser known Taimanin in this story, cuz they look hot and have superpowers, but I'll be making shit up if I'm don't know her personality, If any taimanin lore guru want to help me up, can you PM with information about these characters? I know this is a pretty lazy thing to ask but my free time is limited and it takes a while for me to go deep into a new setting.

* * *

Chapter 02

* * *

Uehara Rin stirred with the first sunlight and the cries of the morning birds.

"You're awake," I said, sending a tentative side look to where she was. "Before you freak out. Yes, I took off your clothes, they were too dirty to stay on. And no, I didn't do anything to you." Other than wash the vomit from your skin, but I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to bring that up now.

She didn't move at first, just stared at the ceiling while it was slowly brightened by the sunlight that leaked from the half-drawn curtains.

I held my gaze for a few seconds, deciding that a 'suddenly finding herself naked' freak out that was expected from this universe wasn't going to happen, plus if she wanted to kill me there isn't much I could do to about it. So I look away from her and back to the pan, frying in the tiny stove.

"Your clothes are beside you if you hadn't seen them. They are a little damp. I hadn't had the time to dry them." Flipping the Omelet one last time, I transferred it to the plate on the side, adding the bacon soon after.

Finally movement. I heard the fabric of the blanket rustling over her form.

"I found you last night at my doorstep. This is the 15's. You missed your place by one." I've checked that with the landlady early, and yep, she was my next-door neighbor, because fate works like that apparently.

Placing the plates, glasses, and cutlery on the trays, I picked up the two in my hands and turned.

… Of course She wouldn't bother to cover herself, what was I thinking. The blanket had fallen to her lap, giving me a full view of her mammoth-sized breasts clad in an equally large lace bra and her creamy-white, slender back whose sides sloped into impressive childbearing hips, all hugged by a panty that was a bit too small to be considered decent. A vision that has tormented my thoughts throughout the entire night, and would undoubtedly send many teenage boys into a frenzy.

Me? I just pause for a second and continued on.

"Here," I said, setting the breakfast on her side, and sitting close by. Not much space in the apartment, just a bathroom, a kitchenette, and a living room with a tiny balcony attached to it. We would stay close no matter where I sat. "I only know how to do western style. Hope you don't mind."

Bacon, eggs, sausages, orange juice: a very standard hangover breakfast. And touching on the subject, I really got to learn Japanese cooking, the ingredients to make western are too expensive around here.

More controlled movements, the shape of her long legs curled under the blanket until she was kneeling. I tried hard not to look, but it was hard; this woman was _hypnotically _gorgeous. Even her hair was beautifully messed, a trait that few women could achieve, and especially impressive considering the length of it.

Her eyes didn't move around a lot, nor did they change from the serene look. They did focus on the food though, and with slow, endearingly unfamiliar movements she began to eat.

By that point, I remembered my own food and yanked my eyes off of the Yamato Nadeshiko in the room.

Goddamn, are all taimanins this beautiful? It makes things even more tragic knowing their usual fates…Yes, their fates which are tied to a hentai franchise set in a futuristic setting that _shouldn't _have anything to do with nineties Japan, or Ranma freaking ½ in the first place.

No. Let it go, I stayed up the whole night freaking out about the possibilities and implications of what this could mean, and it's not like me, a completely random stranger, could ask a freaking _demon slayer_ _ninja_ about things I shouldn't have knowledge about, I can't see how this would end well for me.

And frankly, I'm tired of freaking out.

We eat in silence, her movements with fork and knife becoming steadier by the second. I'd like to say she was copying me, but I wasn't sure she looked at me even once

She finished around the same time I did, then gently pushed the tray away and fully turned towards me. I gulped, she did all of that in her underwear and even now made no effort to cover herself, it was… stimulating, in a very awkward way.

Damn teenage body with no self-control!

"Uehara Rin." She introduced herself in a polite tone. Her voice fit the rest of her; a melodic, feminine cadence that blends nicely to the background, yet it was distinct enough to linger.

… I coughed, realizing I let the silence go on for a bit more than necessary. Goddamn distracting sexy ninjas.

"Ōe Hiroshi, it's a pleasure to met you."

"Ōe Hiroshi-sama." She leans in, her hands sliding forward until the tip of her fingers were touching the tatami floor, and her back was in a perfect 30-degree angle, a flawless respectful bow, only… she was in her underwear, meaning the pose showed me the _mother of all cleavages_. "Thank you for your kindness and hospitality. This one vow to one day returns it to you in kind."

"Ah, you're welcome?" I said, a little taken aback by the odd way she phrased that. Now if I could only stop ogling her so blatantly…

"Then," She straightens herself, "I must take my leave." She briefly bowed one last time, before rising to her feet. And boy, that was an experience; all the right things in her _jiggled_, even confined as they were. I watched her as she gathered her clothes and left. For not a single moment she lost control of her movements or her eyes stopped looking serene.

I sighed, letting my shoulders slump. That's it, I guess.

**Quest completed: **

**+200**

**Your closeness with Uehara Rin has vastly increased.**

**?**

**?**

Yeah yeah, you say that but it certainly doesn't feel like it. I mean, it _could_ have gone a lot worse, but I feel it could have gone a lot better also.

And was she really depressed? She didn't look depressed to me.

"Ah." I breathed, catching the number on the electronic clock. I've better get started if I wanted to get some things done before school.

…Wait a second… did she just go out in her underwear?

-0-0-0-

There was a taimanin in Nerima.

I'm not arrogant enough to believe I know everything there is to know about Ranma 1/2 's universe from the show alone, but I'm fairly certain it didn't have the plot of Taimanin Asagi running alongside it, mainly due to the difference in time period, or differences in world-building.

Yet I can't deny the existence of Uehara Rin simply because I didn't want her to exist. I must accept the fact that this isn't the Ranma world I'm familiar with and react appropriately.

Nevertheless, my objective still the same, and it's the same objective of every other person with The Gamer out in the multiverse; get stronger to increase survivability. This is more vital than ever now, considering there are Taimanins running around, which meant there are rape demons and worse.

I shivered at this thought. Much _much_ worse; got to watch out for news about Edwin Black.

**Quest completed. **

+**10 exp**

"Thank you young man. My back isn't what it used to be." Said the old lady I've just helped set up her stop.

**Quest completed. **

+**20 exp**

"Oh thank you, thank you so much!" Said the mother who I just helped reunite with her child.

**Quest completed. **

+**10 exp**

"Here you go boyo, for the trip. You really save my hide there, hahaha!" Said the honest-to-god kettle seller, as I finished fixing his kettle cart. So many kettles… and I now have one…

I jogged across the narrow streets and low houses of Nerima, doing random quests that popped up along the way.

Today, I'm planning to continue testing out the gamer system; some vital things I'll have to try after school, because I wanted peace and concentration, but it doesn't mean that I couldn't test out some smaller things on the short time I have before school.

I continued to jog, feeling my heart racing on my chest, my breaths quickening due to the effort, my legs swing fast and rhythmically, the wind flapping against my tracksuit. I felt a grin marking my features. My body has never felt this light before, nor was I ever able to run this fast, for this long.

**\+ 1 End**

I gasped and almost tripped over my feet, when I managed to get my equilibrium back I threw my arms up and cheered.

"HELL YEAH, IT WORKS!" I was so happy I couldn't keep it inside.

I was worried as _fuck _about this. The game system I'm stuck with is very schizophrenic; some things are easy as hell to achieve while others are hard as fuck. For example, it took me minutes to figure out my Illusion Barrier Erase skill, but even now I can't see to crack the classic 'Observe' skill and that's just _watching _things.

I was worried I didn't have the 'gain stats through effort' thingy, but thankfully I was wrong. This opens a lot of possibilities and pretty much lock my usage of free points for a while, I don't know if it becomes hard to gain extra points when my stats are high level but I don't want to try, better to get as much extra stats while they're still low and…

… I just realized this is the path of more effort because as it means I have to work for the stats rather than gain them through level-ups… ah well.

Suddenly, there was a loud snapping of something distinctly mentality. Followed by a sharp _"Shit!"_ the universal reaction for something going terribly wrong.

I jerk my head to the side and saw an open garage a short distance away, a quick jog forward and I could make out a red sport car and legs kicking beneath it.

My eyes widened, oh shit.

**New quest: Small action, big consequences.  
**_**A stranger just got into an unfortunate accident nearby, save her life or help her avoid any serious injuries. **_**  
Reward: **

**+100 exp.**

**?**

**?**

**Failure:**

**Possible end of the world.**

**?**

**?**

**Accept/Refuse **

_OH SHIT!_

I _ran_ into the garage.

"Are you ok!? What happened!?" I asked the flapping legs of the girl whose death or injury would trigger the end of the world, quickly assessing the situation while at it.

The fucking car jack had snapped, it was obvious to see that. But thankfully it had not snapped all the way, just enough to painfully press the vehicle on the girl's abdomen rather than crushing it. Fuck, can't pull her out like this, and the busted jack is starting to creak ominously.

"The drawer!" She called out breathlessly. "The big drawer next to the worktable, hurry! Arh!"

Following her instructions, I nearly yanked the drawer out of its hinges, but I found an extra car jack among the heavy tools. Picking it up, I slid close to the car and jammed the thing next to the busted one. It took a lot of grunting and my full weight to get the lever of the damn, outdated thing to move, but eventually, I managed to raise the car enough for the girl to roll out. She crashed on the shelves and fell from the board, curling over herself on the ground.

I pulled away the busted jack just in case and directed my attention to her.

"You're ok?"

_"_Y-_Yeah."_ She spoke in a high-pitched cough, her breathing still affected by the near-death experience. "Give me a moment."

I stood close and let her gather her composure, meanwhile having a look at the girl that was apparently vital to the safety of the world. She was wearing a bulky overall that covers most of her body with a grimy white shirt under it, she has dirty blonde hair but in anime japan this isn't really unusual, and kept it in a low ponytail that reaches just below her shoulders. Her face was locked in a shaky expression of concentration as she tried to rein in the pain and her breathing, I could see she has rather striking features; though more 'handsome' than 'pretty'.

I… don't recognize her, but her floating tag was visible now.

**Tenou Haruka  
Closet Lesbian  
Level: 10**

… I'm reasonably sure I _should_ recognize that name, and it _is_ familiar. Like, it was sitting in the back of my mind but I can get it for the life of me… Urg, I don't remember her in the Nerima's wrecking crew. Is she from Taimanin?

"Ah." Her hand gripped the side of the garage's worktable and she starts pulling herself up. "Thank you, if you hadn't come. _Urg!_" She barely managed to stand before a wave of pain made her curl again.

"We need to get you to a hospital." I looked at the side door that led to the house. "Are you parent home? We have to warn-"

_"No!" _She cuts in. "No parents, no hospital." She leans into the table for support. "I just need to lay down for a bit."

"Girl… you just had a car fall on top of you." As if my words were a reminder she grunted and held her abdomen. "See, it agrees with me."

"…What? My injury? I don't-" She started but I cut her off by poking her sweaty forehead.

"Twas a joke don't worry about." I smiled a bit and crossed my arms to lay my ultimatum. "But as things stand, I ain't going to leave until your injury gets treated, and I don't know anything about medicine, so it's got to be someone else."

She frowned a little bit. "That's a bit unreasonable don't you think?"

"I can't help it, I've come to this world to meddle and help, this way I can get experience points and level up!"

Aha! I got a tiny smile.

"That's a bizarre logic." She decides.

"It's the truth, now how are we gonna do this?"

She rubbed the injured area of her abdomen and tried to briefly straighten her back, only to jerk back to curling again. Finally, she sighed.

"There is a clinic just down the street. We could go there."

"Great!" I step closer. "Here lean on me."

She passed her arm over my shoulders and I circled mine over her waist. It was quite awkward because she was on the taller end for a girl; we were nearly the same height.

She managed three steps with my help before yelping in pain and folding.

"Humm… It seems we have no choice."

She snapped a look at me.

"Not my parents-"

"I'll have to carry you."

She blinked, her lips chewing on my words before she raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Don't actually do that."

"I'm gonna do it."

Saying that I carefully lowered myself and passed my arm over the back of her knees and gently pulled her up, slowly as to not aggravate her injury.

She was heavy, not enough for me to struggle to carry her around but I'm thankfully for this new, stronger body. This says something about my old one because strength is my weakest stat.

"See, better now, right?" I grinned.

"Mm." The noise she made with her throat was kinda agreeable. She didn't blush like a girl of her age would at being carried like that; she just cradled her abdomen and rolled her eyes.

Then she smiled; it made her look cool.

"You might be the oddest person I'd ever met…" A deliberate pause.

"Ōe Hiroshi, and you ain't seen nothing yet."

"Hooh. Tenou Haruka, I'm intrigued to see if you can back that up."

**Quest Completed**

**+100 exp.**

**Your closeness with Tenou Haruka has increased**

**?**

Oh yeah, there was a quest.

-0-0-0-

Japan and the Japanese people will always hold the trophy of 'weirdest inventions integrated into society', no matter if it's normal Japan or an alternative anime version of it.

I held the bread to my face. Sniffed it. Tasted its texture. Then took a bite.

… I don't know who had the bright idea to put yakisoba in a bread, but I shall find him… and I'll kiss him.

"Mmmmm!" My moan of overwhelming pleasure didn't go unnoticed by the class, a few chairs got pushed away from me, and a few judging stares were thrown in my direction.

I don't actually care all that much, but I actually made a pretty bad first impression to my peers. There are a pretty strict set of rules that regulates Japanese society, in fact, there are so many rules that each niche of a person's life has their own; like, to the point you have to use slightly different languages to address various people of various social hierarchies in various social situations. These rules are hammed into a Japanese child from the moment they are born until they become second nature to them and the child turns into a good little nail to serve the shogun/daimyo/emperor/politician and continue the way of glorious Nippon.

Yesterday I broke several of these rules by blatantly skipping most of my classes, on my first day no less, and having the audacity to turn up to the last period like nothing had happened.

That firmly set me as a 'problem child' in their eyes, and nobody wanted to be associated with the problem child.

"Hey, Hiroshi." Ramna dropped his desk and chair in front of mine and sat on it. "You got any more yokais to fight man. I'm bored."

Oh yeah, Ranma was right there with me yesterday, but he wasn't being ostracized for some reason. Hum, now that I think about it; a lot of kids in this school should be shunned by the Japanese spirit grinding system, but aren't. Kuno get a pass cuz he's rich and the principal's son, but the boys assaulting Akane everyday? Yeah, that's not proper Japanese nail behavior.

Maybe is because I'm not eccentric enough? Do all sufficiently weird people get a pass? That would explain a lot.

Ranma squinted his eyes as I kept slowly chewing on my delicious bread and staring blankly at him, once he realized I was fucking with him I swallowed and smiled.

"Sorry man, I'm not getting anything today."

"Really? Not a single hint?"

"It's not something I can do on demand."

_Yet. _If Illusion Barrier Escape and Illusion Barrier Erase are a thing, then Illusion Barrier _Create _is only a powerflex away. It's one of the things I'm planning to work on once I find a barren terrain for me to train.

"You can always fight Kuno if you have an itch," I suggested.

"I'm going to do that later," He takes a folded paper from his pocket. "Got a challenge letter and everything, only…" He leans in, putting a hand beside his mouth to whisper conspiratorially. "Is for my other form."

"Ah." What happens during these times again? My clearest memories of Ranma ½ are from when the whole cast is present. The beginnings are quite murky. But I know for sure Kuno has a crush on girl Ranma, maybe this is when it starts. "Why would he want to fight you like that?"

He grinned arrogantly. "Heh! Cuz I kicked his ass in that form before. He got a bruised ego and wants revenge, I know the type!"

Pretty sure you are the type.

"And how does that work exactly, your whole…" I gesture to his body with a half-eaten piece of bread.

"Che." He leans back with a little frown but answered anyway. "Cold water turns me into… you know. Warm water gets me back to normal. Ruined my life." He grumbled.

Yeah, I'm not going to argue with him on that, at least not now. He wouldn't respond well no matter the argument. Instead, I moved in another direction.

"Right, but do you know the details?" I tapped my chin. "Like how hot or cold the water has to be to change you. Or how much water can provoke a change, and how much of your body has to touch it. Like, can you change by submerging only the tip of your finger in water? Or what about sweat and saliva? Can they provoke a change?"

Ranma blinked rapidly, his shoulders tensing a little bit. "I dunno man. Why are you asking me this?"

I shrugged and waved my bread around. "Curiosity, knowledge, understanding. Understanding a problem is the first step towards solving it?" I finished by taking a bite.

"Oh, that's ok." He relaxed and opened a smile. "Sound's great even! I don't know any of that you asked but I can't try out a few things."

I nodded.

"And what 'bout you? Your thing's magic right? Like when you took us to that weird mirror world thing."

"Eh, kinda, I think it's a bit too soon to say that magic is my thing exactly. My situation is kinda…" Now how to explain it in a way he'd get it. I doubt Ranma would comprehend the full extent of the Gamer power, and I don't think is wise to spread around knowledge about my true ability. "Alright, to put it in simple terms; I've awakened to the mystic side of things only recently, and yeah I got some magical ability out of it, but no deep understanding on how it works, I was just another high school boy until a few days ago, so I'm still pretty green about all of this."

"Oh." His eyes flashed in disappointment for a moment but he carries on. "So that really was the first yokai you ever saw. Then, not bad at all, totally didn't look like your first time."

"Thank you." Though I can't say you are being genuine or patronizing me with that tone.

Ranma grinned. "But you can use some magic, right? You said so. What you can do?"

"Well…" I looked around, it didn't look like anybody was paying attention, except for Akane on the other side of the room who was occasionally sending us some curious stares.

Ah, fuck it.

I brought up my inventory screen, and thank the gods once again for the highly interactive system I had. Most Gamers could only summon their screens by voice command and they were only static holograms that had to be touched physically.

With me? I could do everything with a thought, without raising a single hand, and my screens moved pretty much everywhere I wanted as long it was around me.

I made the inventory screen fly horizontally until it was hovering over the desk; Ranma was, of course, none the wise, until I raised my hand that is. Then he closely followed my flashy movements

"Give me… bread!" I declared and poked the screen, ejecting the extra bread I had bought in case I didn't like the Yakisoba one. It landed on the desk with a thud.

"Bread!" Ranma exclaimed loudly, drawing some attention to us. "Awesome! It came out of nowhere!" He reaches out and picks it up. "Ohh, I can touch it and everything."

I laughed at his amusing reaction. "It's real… help yourself if you want."

"Reashy, sweeesh!" Ranma already had his mouth full of melon bread. "Thansh Hiroshi!"

I nodded and finished the rest of my own meal.

Then I took another one from the inventory immediately after it.

These funny tasting breads are the shit!

-0-0-0-

The clerk stared me with an exhausted look in his eyes, he kept trailing from my smiling face to the pile I presented to him.

I didn't have to vocalize it, but I did it anyway. It'd be funnier.

"I would like to purchase these, please."

He aged ten years at that exact moment. Yes, that was the face of someone experienced with teenagers coming into his bookstore, buying a few Kung Fu manuals to aid their fate as the next coming of Bruce Lee, only to whine and threaten to sue when their dreams crash and burn before the horrible requirements of effort and dedication.

Still, he indulged me, and I exited the store a few yen poorer, but with a modest collection of how to hit people in hard and flashy ways.

This was a regular bookstore, not an ancient, magical one I have no doubt exists around here. The reason I went to the former was because I don't know where the later is yet. If it doesn't actually exist I would be very disappointed with Ranma ½ and anime japan in general.

The books I had purchased went along the lines of 'Martial art for dummies', 'Self defense for beginners', 'The principle of so on and so on style. I had about twenty of them.

Now, I know that you can't really learn martial art by reading about it in a book, but I had the Gamer so I imagine I have an edge on most people.

I drop the sack of books on a bench in an isolated part of the local park. Picking the book on the top of the pile and admittedly the one I wanted to know most about.

It was a smallish white book with big black letters saying Jeet Kune Do in the cover.

Now, if I am the Gamer it probably means…

I opened the book in the middle.

**You have encountered a book! Do you wish to integrate the information?  
Accept/Refuse. **

The pop up came, and a shit-eating grin split my face. I never hit Accept so fast in my life, even physically raising my hand to do so.

A strangled breath broke its way through my throat as I flinched back and sagged downwards, my vision fading for a second while the weight of information _assaulted _my mind. It didn't hurt, not exactly, but suddenly knowing the position of every letter, the meaning of every paragraph, and the vision of every print and illustration inside the book made for quite the overwhelming experience.

I gasped, instinctually grasping the edge of the bench to keep myself from falling to the ground face first. I found myself on my knees, my head aching slightly from the new imprint.

Alllllright, that was not quite what I was imagining, gotta remember my version of the Gamer is more… painful than normal. Upsides and downsides I guess.

I pull myself on the bench and waited for my head to stop aching. Fifteen minutes later it was like it never hurt in the first place, and I realize something.

I know kung fu.

Well, what the book had to teach about kung fu at least. I, quite literally, have the book on my head, can recall everything and anything in it, and understand everything it wanted to convey.

I laughed in jubilant glee, now I know how freaking Bruce Lee fights, how many people can say that!?

And I wasn't finished.

Fishing another book, this time one titled in Chinese, with a Japanese translation saying 'Bājíquán' beneath.

I grinned and absorbed it, bracing for the pain and confusion.

It was only after I've eaten almost all of the books I realize something important.

_I wasn't getting skills. _

-0-0-0-

My body moved slowly and deliberately, going through several of the now hundreds of stances archived in my head.

Have you ever watched a really good kung fu movie… Oh, who am I kidding, have you ever watched Ip Man, got so excited about the prospect of martial arts, and bought a book after so you could 'try it out' to see if it was your thing, and in that book, there were various illustration? Yes? Now answer me, what happens when you try it out?

That was my problem.

No one ever learned martial art from a book. The books can show you images, they can tell you how to do it, and how it works, but they can't tell you how to do it _properly_, they can't stop and tell you if you are right or wrong, if you have a bad habit that's getting in the way of a stance, or even how to move from one stance to another.

Book gives you the information, it does not teach you the skill.

And that frustrated the fuck out of me. Now I know _about _martial arts, but I don't _know _martial arts. Oh, I'm doing better than most, having the ability to perfectly recall pages of the book gets rid the necessity of stopping to look what the next move was, but still, I'm only mirroring, not doing it.

I sighed.

Ok, the ability to absorb the information of a book and perfectly recall them, that's good, overpowered even, and undoubtedly useful. But it can't give me skills on a subject if it isn't an academic one. I'm ok with that.

I kicked some dirt that was at my feet.

All right, next thing, one that I'm confident about because it came easily to me before.

I sat down, wiped my brow and set off to concentrate on the feelings of my skills, unintentionally setting off 'Meditation' while at it.

It helped. The noise of the world fades away into a dim muffle, there was only my thoughts, the beating of my heart, the little contract of muscles here and there. I was focused like few times before.

…It was a type of energy, I knew that, but it didn't feel like one. It felt like mundane reactions, albeit in unusual sharpness and malleability. The frustration I felt at the early stunt surged from my chest, increasing the beating of my heart. The underlying pain I tried to hide chilled its way through my veins to join it, the throbbing excitement climb up to enter the mix, and more, happiness, trepidation, anger, disgust, and many others, feeling both good and bad reflected outward, shaping an energy that was so utterly _me _it was blinding.

And it was that energy that moves when I activate some of my skills.

Now it's moving again to the rhythm of two of my skills, while adding experimental twists and turns as I try to shape it into something different but similar. In my experiment I did _something_, and then I realize that it was my _intent and will_ joining the mix and sending everything into a wonderfully violent chemical reaction.

It exploded and I could feel my MP dropping.

**Skill created lvl 01: Illusion Barrier Creation.**

A pulse of the energy… Mana? Prana? Raw magic, I don't know, but a pulse was expelled from my body, rapidly shaping and connecting and… I lost track.

When I opened my eyes out of meditation. The world was silent and dark.

Night? It has been this long…

Regardless, I'm back at the silent, grayed world with the ghost of people, this time one of my own creation.

I've got what I came for.

**Skill created lvl 01: Illusion Barrier creation.  
Let's you create Illusion Barriers in the area around you, the deepness of barrier as well as the content inside changes according to the level.**

**Level 01: Empty.**

I let out a breath. This changes everything.

This is the essential skill that would allow me to get stronger, the one skill every Gamer should have, the skill that gives you a mobile grinding zone and source of income. I cannot convey the sheer usefulness of this; hell, depending on the level I could have my very own hyperbolic time chamber.

This deserves a cheer of its own, the biggest of the day, for the sheer effect it would have in my future.

Yet…

_*Yawn*_

I don't feel like overreacting, in fact, I was fairly chill, and very relaxed.

So I just sat back in my own little world.

… and sunk back into the wonders of my Magic.

-0-0-0-

I was still yawning as I made my way up the stairs to my apartment.

It was very late, an hour that no respectable Japanese youth would want to be found out. I had taken a nap in the park, then I woke up and took another nap; directly feeling magic is a very trippy experience.

This was a very productive day, It could have been more if I had ground my ID create skill or at least tried _experimenting_ with my magic rather then just chilling inside it, but I was happy. There wasn't really anything urgent that required me to get stronger fast, it doesn't mean I plan to be slothful about it, but it means that times like this, where I just get distracted and chill out won't make me lose my sleep.

I stretched my arms once I managed to work my tired legs through the steps. Ready to get a good night's sleep.

There was a homeless person curled into a pathetic ball at my doorsteps.

Really? That's the second time… Goddamn Nerima.

I got closer to the tight ball of bulky coats and scarfs, and kick it lightly.

"Hey, you are in my way, get out please," I said as gently as I could manage through my irritation. Politeness, my Japanese self cried, politeness to the bitter end!

"Guuuuuuu." Was the draw out, feminine sounding noise that it produced in response- Wait a second.

The figure unfolded, head rising up to me wearing a puffy hat that would fit on Oliver the hungry orphan and a pair of large circular glasses with the lens so opaque it was practically white, there were also images of a silly spiral on them for some ungodly reason.

However, the little skin I managed to make out from that horror of fabric was smooth and unblemished, and the traces of the face told something remarkably feminine.

…There was also snot dripping from that feminine nose.

"Ō-Ō-Ō-Ōe Hiroshi-sama! Ah!" The figure threw herself at my feet, doing its best imitation of a frog. "T-This one is so, _so _sorry for bothering you so soon."

...It can't be, no, no way there are things in this world that just aren't possible… Oh, who am I kidding?

"Uehara…san?" I tried.

"H-Hai!" The woman who looked _nothing _like the one I've met this morning reflexively jerked up at the sound of her own name. "Ō-Ōe-sama remembers! Ah, this one is so happy~ _guh!"_

She freezes… and then promptly falls rigid to the side.

A _motorboat_ roared inside the corridor at that very same moment.

"G-guuuu, so hungry~" Uehara Rin, the Sparking Taimanin, the woman whose level was so high I can't even see it, moans pitifully against the floor with tears and snot tracing down her face to form a puddle.

My hand… attempted to fuse with my face.

She's a resident of Nerima. How could I've forget that?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03

* * *

"Ōe-san? Is that you?"

"Hum?" I looked down from my place on top of one of the Nerima Park's tree to see Tenou Haruka, the girl whose death could mean the end of the world, looking up at me.

I'd send her a bright smile, but I frankly don't think she could see it from this distance. "Hello there, Tenou-san. Nice morning we're having."

"I suppose so." She says slowly. "Ōe-san, what are you doing up there?"

"Isn't that obvious?" I spoke while turning my attention back to the frightened kitten on the branch. There more I reached out, the more it yowled cutely and drew back. "I'm trying to get this little guy out of there."

"… Y-You're actually saving cats from trees." The girl started to circle around the base to better see the little critter; he was very well hidden among the foliage. "I thought that was only a metaphor!"

"Me too, until I heard him mewling for help." I stick the tip of my tongue out in the effort. Come here you little bundle of Exp. "He's not in a very cooperative mood, though." Christ, even when we're trying to save their lives, cats are assholes.

"Ah." Tenou-san made a sound of patient comprehension that you use when you see someone getting slightly unhinged. I actually resent that, Tenou-san. "But don't you think it might be better to call the authorities and let them handle this, Ōe-san?"

"Nonsense, I have everything under control!"

And I have no idea what Japan's emergency lines are, nor do I know where the nearest police station is. But fuck it; I'm pretty sure I can survive a fall from this height if it comes to that.

And because of cat's general assholeness, it did come to that. The little kitten decided it has enough of me risking my safety for it, and completely bypassed my hand to leap at my face claws first. Sending both of us towards the ground with a yelp and a victorious yowl.

I landed on my back in a crash so clear it would have sent me to the hospital one life ago; currently, it just gave me a whole lot of pain and decreased my HP a little bit. The cat landed safely on my chest, the little fucker.

"Ōe-san, are you ok!?" Tenou asked in a worried tone as she materialized into my vision.

Hehe, this is kind of an inversion of our first meeting.

"Fine!" I answered in a grunt, pushing through the pain to sit up, and gripping the struggling kitten in my hand to stop its efforts to eat my face.

"And that's why we leave that to the professionals." The tall girl complained as I rose to my feet. "I didn't think what you said yesterday was serious."

"Now I'm hurt, why would I lie to you?"

My eyes skimmed over the pop-up.

**Quest completed.**

**+10 exp.**

Yeah, I have yet to lie to her.

"Still, its good to see you again, Ōe-san. Do you live around here?" Tenou-san gave me a cool-looking smile.

"In the area, yeah. Right now, this is where I jog." In fact, I was wearing my Russian gangster's tracksuit like a proper Japanese jogger, and Tenou-san was...

"What." She asked, noticing my look.

…Eh, she seems like a girl who could handle honestly. "No offense, but the uniform doesn't fit you at all."

There was nothing wrong with the uniform per se, it was an average looking serafuku of tan and white colors, with a long skirt that reached well below her knees, and a neat bow on her chest area; a very conservative, very traditional outfit. I'm sure it would have looked good in any other girl, but on Tenou-san… something about her build… or the way she moves just clashes with the uniform's image.

Rather than being taken aback, she smiled. "Really? You think so?" She looked down herself and then shrugged. "I guess it can't be helped then."

Ah, that tone was too bright, maybe she agrees with me.

"Ouch." A slight scratch made me turn my attention to the kitten, which by now had declared a bloody vow of revenge to my entire family line.

"Do you know where I can take this little guy? Can't really afford pets right now."

Tenou-san blinked for a second but nodded. "There is a family-owned shelter just around the corner. Didn't you know it? It's pretty famous."

"I moved to the city just recently," I explained.

"Oh." Tenou-san casually moved her bag over her shoulder. It was amazing how easy the word 'cool' could be applied to her. "I could show you around if you want. After you're finished with the cat, that's it."

I considered that for a moment. It was still early enough, pretty of time to change and get to school.

"Eh, what's the harm?"

I wonder what Tenou-san is doing in her uniform so early, though.

-0-0-0-

Nerima, or at least the area that I lived, was like a quaint little village in the middle of a Tokyo ward.

Of course, you could argue that's true for the Tokyo wards themselves, but in Nerima, this was even more pervasive. The ward was on the very edge of the mega-city, a fact that had stunted it's growth metropolitan-wise, but had allowed it to retain many values of Japan's rural life; including a close-bonded community of families and business that knew, protected, and gossiped about each other.

It didn't change the fact this was a Tokyo ward, which by its very nature is much bigger than a rural village, thus making it more difficult to uphold these values. The solution then was breaking Nerima further, into a jigsaw puzzle of neighborhoods and districts that essentially acted like tiny little villages in of itself, save for the rural part, presumably because they hadn't figured out how to grow rice in asphalt. Each of these 'villages' has their own communities with their own unofficial representative acting as 'counsel' for the municipal body of the ward, oh, and the mayor was also there.

Putting politics aside, it basically means that my neighborhood, the Kotakechō district apparently, had everything one could possibly need bundled together on several streets of charming little family shops and other business. Tenou-san seemed to know everyone by name, and while I was with her, they threw me some sharp, judging stares like I was an alien trying to integrate. It was amazing how they could still seem so polite while doing so.

We were wandering through a winding path on a lazy route to Tenou-san's school, just throwing casual conversation and killing time until I had to hurry back to my apartment to change and go to my own school.

"That's the silliest name I've ever heard," I told her with utmost sincerity. My flat delivery made her snort a burst of laughter that wasn't entirely feminine.

_"Yes!_ Yes, it is! Finally!" She continued to laugh while holding her mouth; looks like I'm the first person who got it.

"I mean, St. Hebereke's school for girls? What even is that? There ain't no St Hebereke in the catholic…" Then, the Japanese part of my brain caught up. "Wait a minute. Is that a pun about drunk people!?"

_"Yes!" _She snorts louder; this time it was unabashedly pig-like no matter how much she tries to hide it. "And nobody realized it!"

Now it's was my turn to snigger, the thought of a, in Tenou-san's words, nationally renowned high school with a name that essentially meant Saint Drunkard was kinda funny.

If this were my old world, I'd call bullshit, there was no way they would let something like that pass, but here in anime land, everything was possible.

Still. "Nationally famous school for girl's eh, Tenou-san, someone is living the high life."

"It's just a school, not really a big deal." She blinked. "Ah, but I think you've misunderstood me…"

It might be somewhat cliché to say that Tenou-san trails off as soon as she took the next turn, but sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. So, steadying myself, I walked behind her to see what caused this abrupt pause.

"Oh, dear." I breathed out. "Tenou-san, is it normal for a trio of delinquents to be loitering around the way of your school, clearly waiting for someone to pass?"

"N-No." Her voice faltered into a high pitch for just a second before sharpening back into a cutting edge. "No, it most certainly is not."

The trio in question were some of the more generic-looking delinquents that I'd ever seen. Baggy school uniforms, Mohawks or shaved heads, piercing and chains, all very typical for the image they were trying to convey. The trio was improperly squatting in a circle, which made me narrow my eyes at their western spyness, in the middle of their loose circle was a pile of dirty cards, inappropriate magazines, and smoking cigarette buds. One of them noticed us, and the others were quick to follow, their gazes immediately fell on Tenou-san.

The biggest of them frowned, his beady eyes squinting dangerously. He rose to his full height, throwing a half-smoked cigarette to the side and curled his scarred lips into an ugly scrawl.

"Oi, bitch, you're from St. Hebeberetes' rhythmic gymnastics club?"

While he was speaking, I scanned their tags for their names and titles. Level 6 to 8, title… hold on _Middle _school delinquents? These guys look like they could be thirty!

Tenou-san met his glare with one of her own. "No. I'm not."

A few seconds of silence passed, and I turned my head towards her.

"Wait, you're not?"

"That's what I've been telling you. I'm a student of their sister school, _sister _school." Tenou-san enunciated as if to make sure I got it this time. "St. _Bacchus_ Middle School for girls. I'll go to Hebereke next year."

I snorted loudly, another drunken pun, and what the hell was a catholic school doing with the name of a greek myth- "Hold on, _middle _school for girls?"

The blonde girl nodded, leaving her head a bit tilted. "Why yes, I'm a middle school student, after all."

"But you're so..." Well-horned instincts of a man who learned ways to get women into his bed despite being fat and relatively unattractive took over and screamed for me to not say _'tall'_ "Mature! I honestly thought we were the same age."

Tenou-san perked up, a smile on her lips. "Thank you; I get that a lot actually but it's usually-"

_"KORA!"_ The delinquent shouted, stopping his feet on the ground between us. "Don't ignore me, you cunts. I'm talking to _you!"_

And he got in Tenou-san's face. By that, I meant that weird Japanese bully thing of making an over-the-top grimace and loom over the one you're trying to intimidate.

"You think I'm dumb, bitch!? I know that uniform, you dare to lie on the great Touji-sama's face." He growled. His buddies rising to their feet behind him.

**New Quest: White knighting before it was cool.  
**_**Defend M'lady against the vile delinquent threat; maybe she would kiss your boo hoos afterward, but I wouldn't count on it.**_**  
Reward:**

**\+ 100 exp.**

**Accept/Refuse.**

Urgh, did you really have to word it like that, gamer powers? I almost refused out of principle.

"Now then," I interjected, suddenly sliding to the middle of the pair, pushing Tenou-san behind me and taking her place under the taller, but ironically younger, boy's shadow. "I'm sure there is no need for violence. This is just a big misunderstand you see—"

The guy roughly grabbed the collar of my tracksuit. Leaning back to prepare an over-the-top head-butt. I sighed when I saw the obvious movement.

_"It's not of your business!"_ He shouted while springing his head towards mine, to which I simply tilted my forehead in a way there would do more damage to him than me.

Which was precisely what happened. Or contact resulted with the guy stumbling back with a loud yelp of pain while holding his forehead, and me letting out a grunt. Tenou-san stiffened behind me.

I brought my arms up, ignoring the thin line of warm blood dripping from my forehead. To business then.

I actually knew how to brawl; the Brazilian education system of the early 2000s had this as an unofficial and mandatory course, and this certainly wasn't the first time I've been cornered by high schoo- sorry middle school thugs, so I knew what to do next, mostly.

And with the bucket loads of information about martial arts I had absorbed, it was downright simple.

Before the leader could recover, I stomped my way inside his guard and used some basic principle of Bājíquán to bury an elbow carrying most of the weight of my body on his solar plexus, instantly bring him down.

The shock of seeing their leader dispatched so easily stunned the other two, something I used to rush in and swipe the legs of the one in the right from under him and kick his face when he was down.

"W-What?" The last one babbled, still recovering. Usually this would go in two ways: he would realize he was now alone and without back up against a guy who brought down two of his friends and decide to run. Or he would see he was the last one standing and feel like a cornered animal.

And seeing the way he balled his fist, screamed, and rushed at me rather than away from me, I'd say it's the second.

Before he could fully enter my range, I decided to test out something and summoned my inventory screen in his direction, when he got sufficiently close I fling my arm forward and activated the eject function of the screen. The delinquent saw the punch and was prepared to dodge it. However, he wasn't ready for the sudden appearance of an aluminum baseball bat that flew faster than the punch and promptly got his face flattened in the thrust.

Neat, I can use my inventory offensively. I considered that while swirling the bat around before putting it to rest on my shoulder.

I looked around the prone bodies. This was almost anti-climatic really, they were level 6 to 8 and I was barely a 3, but I still managed to wipe the floor with then. Granted, I had more experience than them in brawling and some martial art foundations to help put it to better use, but I was still expecting a bit more struggle; you know, cuz level difference and all of that.

But then again, that little monkey yokai was level 2 and managed to keep up with Ranma of all people. Maybe levels aren't everything.

"Y-You _fucker!_" The leader wheezed out, painfully rising to his feet. Looks like he wasn't fully out like I'd hoped. The other guy whom I didn't use the bat on also stirred. Clearly, this wasn't the end.

Still, I've capitalized on the initial opportunity, now they are injured and I had a weapon. I still held the advantage.

The leader stuck his hand in his pocket. I was expecting a knife or brass knuckles, but instead, before he could do anything, a pair of long, slender arm grabbed his abdomen from behind and gripped him so tightly I could hear him huffing.

"Hahhhhh!" Tenou-san shouted in effort as she _lifted _the larger teen over her head and brought him to the ground with an arch of her back.

His legs slumped over him as he folded in an awkward upside-down position; meanwhile, I was blinking profusely because holy shit Tenou just _suplexed_ a guy!

"Ōe-san!" She came to me, her breaths slightly winded. "Are you ok?"

"That's my line," I told her, and then I smiled. "That was impressive… You know how to fight?"

"Ah, no, I'd never…" She lowered her gaze to the side, hand rubbing the back of her neck while the bridge of her nose light up with a flush. "I've seems some movies…"

I couldn't help it; I snorted at the crazy girl's wiliness to use moves she saw on television. And to pull it off too.

Well, the situation was under control now. The delinquent leader was down, one of his lackeys was unconscious, and the other was 'suspiciously' unconscious. So we gathered our things and prepared to move on.

That's when we heard a sniff.

And the nasal whine that followed.

"…Oh, Hitomi-chan, your big brother is a failure, *Sniff* forgiven me!"

It came from the delinquent leader.

…I sighed.

They got a sad backstory, don't they?"

-0-0-0-

Hanna Millers is a comfy café located in a busy corner of one of Nerima's commercial streets, but not the main one. Tenou-san had declared it her favorite within the region, and the reason for that became very obvious very quickly.

"Here are your orders!" Said the waitress leaning in to distribute the smacks and drinks among the table, her splendid breasts swaying pendulously inside the white blouse that seems specially designed to allow them to do so.

"Please enjoy!" She spoke one last time to our petrified expressions and gave us a bow. There is no way she wasn't aware of how frisky her uniform was, and the way she suspiciously pushed her arms together so her breasts just so happen to mash together confirmed my suspicions. When she left, the eyes of more than our table was locked on the way her borderline illegal short skirt bounced against her sizable rump.

A-As expected of the closet lesbian.

"S-So!" The girl herself coughed, bringing the attention back to the matters at hand. "Your sister got attacked, is that what you're saying?"

Touji, the delinquent leader, clenched his fist. "Yes! Hitomi… Hitomi's in the hospital right now because of what those _cunts_ did to her. I can't…" The big guys sniffed, then brought his arm to his face in an over-the-top crying. "As her brother, I can't let this go!"

"Touji -san!" His buddy Hito cried out in sympathy.

"That's right! That right!" His other buddy Sora agreed incessantly.

It was clear they were here for moral support.

Tenou-san coughed again, trying to put things back on track. "Can't you go back a little, give us some more details about what exactly happened?"

He snorted his tears back and started. "You see my sis was in the Rhythmic Gymnastics club— "

*Thud* was the sound of Tenou-san's head painfully coming in contact with the table.

We all cast an incredulous glaze at her prone for a second.

"Err, Tenou-san, are you alright—"

"Let me guess," Tenou-san said after suddenly rising back to her seat. She looked as cool and collected as before like she didn't have a ridiculous bruise on her forehead. "Your sister went to the Akiaki High School, which had a Rhythmic Gymnastics competition against St. Hebereke High a few weeks ago, but the team never showed up."

That inflamed the delinquent again. "Yes! But there is a reason for that—"

"They were attacked." Tenou-san finished for him.

The delinquent choked on what he wanted to say, and drop back on his seat. Nodding.

"You know about this?" I asked.

Tenou-san pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. "St. Bacchus is the sister school of St. Hebereke, there is no secret of what is going on there." She turned to the guy. "The girl you're looking for is called Kuno Kodachi."

I _choked_ at the name. And curiously, the three delinquents shivered.

"EH!? K-Kuno!?"

"Wait, Kuno!? _That_ Kuno!? Is she related to…"

"Furinkan's proud lion…"

"One of Aniki's most powerful rivals…"

I… I don't know what surprises me the most; the fact that somehow Tenou Haruka is somewhat related to Ranma ½'s canon plot, or the fact that freaking Kuno had an honest to god fearful reputation among the delinquents.

Tenou-san seems to catch on what they were muttering.

"Do you understand? Not only her older brother is a beast, but she is from one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most influential clans in Nerima." She raises a finger to reprimand them. "Imagine what would have if you had attacked her instead of me."

They did so and shivered even more.

But the leader smacked his fists against the table, earning some confused looks from the other patrons.

"Even then!" He shouted, but his voice started to falter. "Even then…" Once more, he drops on his seat. "So you're saying my sister's assaulter will go unpunished? Is that it?"

Damn, when he says it all dejectedly like that makes it hard to now feel for the guy, even Tenou-san looked her gaze a bit.

_'It can't be help it'_, was what the Japanese's spirit of these youth said, even the delinquents, which were supposed to be breaking from this spirit knew that. No… implying that this was exclusively for Japan would be incorrect. On anywhere in the world, if you had enough money and connections, you can do pretty much anything.

But.

"Well, there are some ways to go against her," I commented.

I was sure of that, Ranma managed to defeat her in a contest, or something. It didn't slow her down, but at least she was defeated, and there were no nasty consequences after the fact.

Yeah, this was anime japan, real-life logic only works until a certain point here, so if we do this quietly enough or weirdly enough…

Now, how should we go about this, maybe if— wait, what the hell am I thinking I can't possibly…

They were looking at me; on their eyes there was- Oi Oi, I was just throwing a suggestion there!

"You mean it, nii-san?" Touji asked, hope dripping on his tongue.

No, no way, it was just a slip of the tongue there is no way-

**New Quest: The Black Rose's downfall  
**_**The crazy bitch of the Kuno's has been running rampantly for far too long! End her reign of terror over the Rhythmic Gymnastics' world by any means necessary! **_**  
Reward:**

**+1.000 exp Vastly increases closeness with the Viper's gang of middle school hooligans.**

**?**

**?**

**Accept/Refuse.**

Why does every bloody quest have question marks now, and why the hell does this give so much exp!?

Goddamn it. I'm not Ranma! This is canon Ranma ½ bullshit. I should leave it alone and…

… Fuck! Fucking hell, the guy's sister is in the hospital, I know the perpetrator, and I have the fucking gamer so I can do at least something about it. And these fuckers are looking at me like lost little ugly puppies and don't even _think_ I didn't catch you shining looks too Tenou-san!

"Y-Yeah."

Touji _jumps_ from his seat, his lackeys following suit.

_"OHHH!_ Nii-san, you're a good guy after all!"

"Nii-san!"

"Nii-san!"

"Alright stop" I raise my hand to stop them. "I didn't say I had a plan or anything. I was just saying that there are other ways to get back at her than just attacking her like that." And I doubt it would have worked too. If I can defeat them than Kodachi definitely can too.

"But how, Nii-san?"

After that, the conversation went on. I tried to work with what I knew of Kodachi while presenting what I _should_ know of her, working with the information that Tenou-san kindly provide me.

Overall, it was actually fun. Scheming to get back at someone is actually a great conversation piece between teenagers, who would have thought? At some point, more snacks and drinks were ordered, and dozens of half-baked plans were designed. Only for us to conclude that we didn't have enough information about the target to plan anything that would stick… Well, Tenou-san and I reached that conclusion that is, but we led the conversation for the three dimwits to realize that too.

"Nii-san! Nee-san! Thank you!" Touji, the delinquent leader, said while standing beside the table and bowing at us, his lackeys doing the same. "I will remember your kindness from the bottom of my heart and rest assure that Aniki will be grateful as well!"

Yeah, yeah, this Aniki guy, he was mentioned a few times. Apparently, he's the leader of a big chunk of the delinquents in the area and is pretty strong. I'm somewhat glad I managed to make peace with these dudes before they rat me out to their grand leader, having a guy like that after me would be troublesome, even if he was good for exp.

After a few loud and tearful goodbyes, which almost got us in trouble with the sexy waitress and her middle-age manager, the trio left.

**Quest completed: **

**\+ 100 exp.**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**Hooligans with hearts of gold.**_

**\+ 100 exp**

**Your closeness with the Viper's gang of middle school hooligans has increased.**

Hum, a bonus objective? And of course, it wasn't shown on the original text. I swear game powers just want to make things difficult sometimes.

**Level up!**

Oh-wait… Neat!

"Well, that was certainly interesting, wasn't it, Ōe-san?" Tenou-san asked with a good-naturedly laugh.

I forced the bright smile caused by the unexpected level up into an expression of annoyance.

"Troublesome was what it was! Ugh, why did I have to get involved again?"

Buttloads of exp, that's why.

Tenou-san chuckled with a knowing look, then gracefully stood from the table.

"Then, I'll be waiting for your call."

"Eh?" I send her a side look while I finished my neglected coffee.

"Well, scouting, of course." She enunciated like a teacher and smiled. "I can easily get you into St. Hebereke to gather information about Kuno Kodachi." She gave me a peace sign. The overly happy gesture contrasted with her cool persona. "And, if something interesting happens there I'll keep you updated. Leave that to me, _nii-san."_

I groaned, and she almost giggled.

"Thank you for the fun morning, Ōe-san." She said before walking away. I lazily waved behind her.

It's late, but I wasn't in a hurry, my uniform is in my inventory so I could just equip it on my way to school.

So for a while, I just sat alone in a café, my legs comfortably crossed together, calmly snipping the content of my cup.

**\+ 1 Cha.**

What the…_Why!?_

"Here you go, sir." The appearance and the _bounce _of the waitress took my mind from the inexplicable gain of attribute. She placed something on the…

…

Those bastards left me with the bill!

-0-0-0-

"I'M A MAN!"

"I KNOW! WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING AT MY FACE!?"

"I'M A MAN HIROSHI!"

"STOP SHAKING ME, GODDAMNIT!"

Ranma had cornered me up behind the main school building during the lunchtime. I had noticed he has been looking ragged and stressed the fuck out for most of the morning but didn't comment. But now he had an ear to listen to him, he was letting all out.

Wish the fucker would stop shaking me like I was a child, it was degrading.

After a few minutes and a few punches to the face, he finally set me down.

"What the fuck was that, Ranma?" I said, trying to catch my breath. If I'm remembering our conversation correctly, yesterday he said… "Was that something with Kuno?"

I'd never seen someone shivering so deeply before.

"So it was Kuno!"

"Enough! Enough about Kuno, I don't even want to _hear_ about that damn lunatic ever again!" He said with his hand grasping his hair.

"Geez, what the hell did he do to get you so riled up?"

He told me. And then I laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Ranma shouted with a hilarious blush on his face. It only made me laugh more.

"Oh, come on!" I let out through the end of it. "He fell in love with your prettier side, what's the big deal." Ranma shivered at the mention of his female self.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He shook his head to wipe the gross look and greening skin tone. "I'm a man you heard me!? A _man!_"

And at that moment, a torrent of water shower over him from above.

"Hey, watch it, there could be somebody down there you know." Came a voice from the windows.

"It's fine, it's fine." Was the answer.

Now, there is something the anime didn't show or at least didn't put emphasis on. Ranma is usually showered by his head, which means the water runs down through his body onto his Chinese silk shirt each time he transforms. Meaning that when Ranma-chan appears, she's usually with the mother of all wet shirt clinging to her very prodigious breasts. Quite the sight.

She trembled in anger, bringing her clenched fist up. Then she pups this fist up with a scream of deviance, fury, and frustration... For about a second before I jammed her mouth shut.

"Seriously, calm down. It's not a big deal." I smiled and brought forward a kettle with warm water that I had the foresight to put in my inventory this morning. "I'm not here for long, but even I can see that Kuno is crazy. So what if he fell in love with your woman body? Nobody takes him seriously anyway."

Ranma shivered again at the mention of his woman form, but sighed in the end, slumping her narrow shoulders.

"I can't have _guys_ falling in love with me, Hiroshi. I'm a guy." She protested dejectedly.

"I'm afraid that alone can't keep guys from falling in love with you either. No homo."

She sent me a confused look. "What?"

"American expression, just raise your arm. I wanna see if I can trigger your transformation with just your hand."

Turn out Ranma could be transformed back and forward by just wetting his hand, which was a shame; big bouncing boobs were more fun to see in a wet shirt than boring, Adonis-like muscles. He did calm down after I turned him into a man and gave him bread, though.

So we move to sit on the steps of outside stairs nearby. Throwing conversation around.

"Hãh? Kuno Kodachi!?" Ranma remarked with his face full of melon bread pieces. "That thing has a sister!?"

"Yup, and she's apparently just as bad as her brother. Got asked by a bunch of middle school delinquents to take care of her."

Ranma sent me a weird sidelook at my odd statement. "Take care, like beat her up?"

"No… I'm not sure. I guess it's all very vague."

"And a bunch of delinquent ask you that. Man, the hell is going on during your morning run, Hiroshi."

I shrugged, wolfing down my delicious red-beam bread. I already knew it would be delicious even before I tried it because it was a funny tasting Japanese bread, and those things are impossible to taste bad apparently.

Then it was Ranma's turn to tell me about his day.

"What?" I said, surprised. "She is selling pictures of your female form!? Isn't that, like, illegal?"

Oh, my reaction was partially fake; I knew Tendo Nabiki would do that eventually, but I didn't know Ranma was aware of this. Or at least I didn't remember…

The martial artist shrugged. "'Dunno, probably doesn't matter even if it were." He swallowed the rest of his lunch. "I'm thinking of letting her do it, you know. They are letting me and my old man stay for free, so I figure this was the least I could do."

"Ehhhh, how considerate…"

"…Oi Oi, what is this look— Hiroshi! I forbid you from buying any of my pictures!"

"Oh, come on! Whyyy!?"

"It would be _weird!"_

With that, time flew, and the lunch tittered toward the end.

"Yosh!" Ranma picked himself off and stretched his back; I heard the popping's from my position. "Thank Hiroshi, it was fun. We should probably go back to class now, though."

Wait, had it been this long. "Shit almost forgot… Eh, fifteen minutes left, should be enough for an introduction."

"What you talkin 'bout?" Ranma asked with a confused tilt of his head.

"Remember what you asked me yesterday." At his confused look, I continued. "About if I had any new yokai?"

"Ooh, yeah- wait do you have it… But lunch will be over soon." He considered.

"Let me show you and you'll understand."

After saying that I pointed my hand at the sky, letting my magic react and twist around the limb almost automatically. An instant later, this energy took mysterious form and concentrated within my arm.

"Id creation," I said out loud for flare, and the energy concentrating in my arm burst forwards and condescended in the area around us.

"Here we are again," Ranma commented, looking at the grayed out world. It was slightly different this time; before, the weather was clear identical to the 'real' world, but now it was humid, chilly, and with a thick mist hanging over everything, his eyes darted around looking for an opponent all of the same.

"Yeah, I can do these on command now, they are full of critters for us to fight though they're definitely not as challenging as the first one." Unlocking an Illusion barrier with enemies wasn't a difficult task; I'd managed to level up Id creation before Tenou-san met me this morning.

"Uwa, Uwa." Come a strange sound close to us. If one plaid attention, they would notice that this sound was mirrored many times in the distance.

From the mist, stumbled a figure of child-like size; greenish wrinkled skin, elongated face with a broad beak on it. And a weird, bowl-shaped head.

"Holy crap, it's a Kappa!" Ranma recognized immediately. True, there were few yokais more known than the kappas; they were the mascot of a lot of businesses and agencies over Japan and were present in a lot of TV shows recently. Even I didn't need to see the tag of **Infant Kappa lvl 01, **to recognize what it was.

"This place is full of them. They are pretty weak but I thought we could get a bit of exercise on our way to the class." The kappa let out a shrill scream and began running towards us, but it wasn't very fast. "What do you say?"

"Hell yeah, I'm always up to fight weird things." The kappa leaped the last distance towards him, but Ranma just stepped forward and kicked it like a football. The thing was already fading before it hit the walls when it did it popped into smoke, only leaving the clicking of coins behind. "… They are pretty lame, though."

I crossed my arm defensively. "Hey, give me time, I'll be able to get more powerful monsters soon," I complained, but Ranma wasn't listening, he was much more interested in the alluring sound he had heard before.

"Hiroshi, look!" He turned to me from his position crouching around the place where the Kappa died. "Cash again!" He showed me a couple of coins that amounted to 650 yen.

"So you noticed. Yeah, they usually leave something behind, most commonly is money." I walked close, "About that, I actually got a proposition for you."

"Hum?" He looked at me while he rose to his feet.

"These place, these monsters, I'm going to use them to get stronger. But, well, how do I put it… I'd like to have you around as an extra hand to help me handle things if it goes out of control or if I bit off more than I could chew, and well… maybe some tips about how to improve?" Teach me martial art, was want I wanted to say, but the more I thought about it… I like Ranma; I think he is a cool guy and fun to be around, I also know how his life is, and how it will become; everybody that knows him wants something from him, or use him to get something that benefits them… I kinda wanted to be different; I don't want him to think I'm only using him to learn martial arts. So, as an incentive and to give something back, I added at the end. "I'm also letting you keep half of the money we collect around here. So it wouldn't be for free either."

"Hold on!" Ranma was listing my words patiently until then, but he pushed his hand up at the last statement. "So you're saying we get to hang out, fight weird monsters, and I'll even get _paid_ for doing it!?" He asked incredulously.

"Err, I wouldn't put it so simply, my main object still is— "

"Yes! _Hell _yes_!_" He agreed cheerfully. Then he quickly turned around to bather away another Kappa that had jumped at us from the ceiling. "Even if they are weak as hell, their movements and posture are odd and fun, and I could definitely use a live punch-bag from time to time." He began walking and gesture for me to follow. "Come on Hiroshi, let's see how many we can get before lunch ends!"

That… went better than I imagined, though I still don't know how he will react to someone directly asking to learn martial arts from him, but I can take things slow and yank some fighting advice first, then I'll use it in conjunction with the Gamer to get better results and the rest… is for the future.

One last thing I want to try, though, I don't know if distance matters, but it was easy to test.

"Form party, Saotome Ranma," I said in the first test-

**Party system unavailable; this game is a single-player experience.**

… Not even a 'The level of this person is too high to form a party with' like I was expecting, just a full blown 'Nope! You can't leech off from stronger people and extend your powers to someone else!'

That's kind of a bummer.

I heard crashes and cries of dying monsters inside the school building while Ranma went a little wild.

"Hey! Hold up Ranma, leave some for me!"

With that, I pulled my baseball bat and tried to catch up.

-0-0-0-

Perhaps it's too early to call it a trend… No, I can definitely call it a trend; once again, I met homeless dressing Uehara Rin perched on my doorsteps.

This time, however, I came in early, on late afternoon instead of night, so instead of finding her slumped, I found her fidgety and looking at me with teary swirly glasses. What came from that meeting was predictable, but this time I'm teaching a woman how to fish rather than give her a fish.

"Here you go, miss!" Said the well-built middle-aged man placing the last order of vegetables at the counter; he has done a pretty good job gathering what products he had left after a busy day into a semi satisfactory amount.

That's the beautiful thing about a market full of family-owned businesses, they are not required to close on a set time and if the owner and workers were kind enough, they can even stop in the middle of closing the store to sell something.

This was the case for the homely market of the Kotakechō district. It was very late afternoon with the lights fading and the shadows becoming the night, people were closing down shops for the day, but a few kind souls choose to stop and help the stuttering woman and the annoyed-looking boy.

And that boy is indeed very annoyed.

"G-Guh, T-Thank you sir, um, h-here." Uehara Rin said from her cocoon of clothes, handing out a couple of bills. She completely missed a great number of them slipping from her purse and falling to the ground.

Uehara Rin was apparently hopeless when it comes to any kind of domestic duty, including buying her groceries to properly cleaning her place. She tries, she honest-to-god tries, but its like fate herself seems to work against her when she does so.

Oh sure, you might think that sometimes accidents happen and people drop money around, but when it happens _every single time_ with _every single store_ we stop by, then it's a pattern.

"T-Thank you very much!" She says and walks away. Leaving the bag of products she just bought and the confused clerk behind.

I sighed and took the bag she had forgotten. The guy sends me a look of sympathy.

Honestly, I don't mind. I was not carrying that much and I was not the only one doing it, plus I could scrap some extra strength bonuses while at it.

"I have so much now!" The taimanin spoke as we took to the rapidly emptying streets. "T-Thank you very much for doing this for me, Ōe-sama. T-This one's debt to you increases even further."

"It's fine, Uehara-san." I sighed. "But how did you even manage to survive this long if you don't mind me asking." Definitely a rude thing to ask no matter the culture, but don't judge me, you hadn't seen her apartment!

"Guhhh, s-sorry..." She slumped dejectedly. "This one had a roommate that took care of most things. B-But she isn't around anymore…"

I look over her. There really isn't any sign of the woman from our first meeting. She was covered by the usual bulk that hid any hint of how she really looked, complete with the addition of a puffy hat and swirly glasses. I knew for a fact that even all of that wouldn't be able to fully hide the curve of her breasts, but her horrible slouched posture took care of the rest. Frankly, the only thing that indicated that she was a woman at all was the tone of her voice… I refuse to believe this isn't intentional. Still, there is no reason to butt in the business of a demon-slaying ninja, especially when you know she is a demon-slaying ninja while you aren't supposed to.

"It's fine," I said, sighing again. "Now you have actual food at least, now it's only a matter of cooking… Do you know how to cook?"

The woman slumped some more. Misery painting her following moan.

"Right. I guess... I guess I can help you out for now, until you can do it on your own."

"Ōe-sama~" She moaned in a tearfully happy tone. "This one has no words..."

"Just doing the neighborly thing. It isn't free, though. You own me a few dinners after you learned."

"Yes! Yes!" She agreed immediately, tears still comically pouring down her face. "T-This one will make sure to prepare a worthy meal! May the heavens reed my words!"

For the third time, I sighed. Both for the Taimanin's weird way of speaking, for and her presence in general.

One might think that being close to what is essentially a hentai ninja would be glorious, but that's the thing, she is from the Taimanin universe, which is a _grimdark _hentai verse. The taimanins and those involved with them usually don't have the nicest of fates. And what their presence implies for the creatures of night… what they might attract… I'm not ready to face that kind of danger yet.

Yet at the same time, I can't _not_ help Uehara Rin, and not only because she is the hottest woman I'd ever met, something that's surprisingly forgettable due to all those clothes. The way she bumbled around looking pitiful just seems to inspire the desire to help and protecc.

I scratched my head; maybe all those goody-two-shoes actions my quests keep prompting me to do are getting to my head.

"-S-So beautiful!"

"You like it, miss? It's a highly effective good-luck charm! Only 10.000 yen!"

"Shining… I'll have one."

"Hum?" I looked back and saw Uehara exchanging an unreasonable amount of money with a tall guy in a dark trench coat.

Godfuckingdanm! I take my eyes for one second!

"Hey!" I shouted, running towards them. The guy noticed and scurried off with surprising speed. "Hey, stop right there!"

No use, the guy disappeared behind an alley before I was halfway across from him. No one saw him either, as there was no person around, and it was dark enough for the street light lit up.

Fuck.

"W-What's the matter, Ōe-sama?" Uehara asked, coming over. There was worry in her tone, and she was cradling a balloon sized purple ball.

"Uehara…" I groaned in exasperation, rubbing one eye in my palm. "He'd swindled you."

"Eh?"

"That ball." I pointed at the thing. A freaking ball as a good luck charm, seriously? What the hell was she thinking!? "It's probably worthless. Definitely not worth 10.000."

"Ehh!? B-but he said it was a—"

"I know what he said." I interrupted, and then I vocalized the heart of the matter and the primary source of her problems. "You really have to take better care of your money, Uehara-san," I complained.

The woman lowered her head like I was the adult in this situation, "S-Sorry…"

"Just…" I deflated, "Let's try one step at the time. Clearly, someone needs to teach you common sense."

"H-Hai, Ōe-sama, this one will strike to learn diligently- Guh!" The squeaked as I patted her head through her puffy hat, I felt like it. "Guhhhh!" The following noise definitely leaned on the happier side.

I smiled at that. Cute.

Then the purple ball in her hands popped like a baboon, flooding the area in a cloud of purple smoke.

I took a step back, my mind trying to register what the fuck had happened. I open my mouth to explain. But only managed to let out a single syllable before everything went _limp._

I tumbled in the purple haze, my body and face hitting the pavement. Pain flared, yet I was too limp to react to it. My body felt heavy, distant, like my nerves receptors have crawled down to a halt and are only managing to send a fraction of what they usually did. But my senses; my vision, hearing, and specially _tact, _were functioning as usual, hell, I'd even say they were enhanced.

I blinked, just about the only thing my body could still do. The purple mist dissipated unnaturally quickly, and from the position my head had tilted, I could see Uehara Rin slumped limply on the ground just like I was. Her hat and glasses had fallen from her.

Fuck! Shitfuck! Enemy attack, it must be, it can't be a fucking prank- that fucking vendor I swear I… footsteps heavy, ominous, deliberately slow.

I felt _fear_ rising. There is nothing like the feeling of being utterly defenseless before someone who clearly didn't have your best interest in mind to ignite _true fear_. I can't even describe it, I just-

I could see Uehara Rin's eyes from here, the first time since we first met. They were hard and neutral, looking fixedly up ahead, her body wasn't even twitching in the unnecessary effort of trying to move, I frankly didn't know if it was because she was conserving her strength, or has resigned herself to whatever it would happen.

Her mouth moved, forming words but not sound

DO. NOT. MOVE.

The steps got closer; I could felt whomever it was walking around my body. The light of lamppost above caused a huge shadow to pass over me.

I. AM. SORRY.

Uehara managed to mouth it before a pair of massive, green-skinned feet blocked her vision. A dark trench coat fell around them soon after.

"The information was true." A rough, raspy voice commented from above. I tried to force my head to look up who, or what it was. "You really are defenseless under this condition."

For my limited vision, I saw him crouch down over Uehara. His voice lowering into a menacing murmur that reverberated in the air.

"I gonna make you pay for what you did to my brothers. Whore!"

The fallen kunoichi let out a noise like a wounded animal as she was roughly hoisted up. The feet then left my field of vision.

Before my brain could even finish processing what had happened, a window appeared in my vision.

**New Quest: A Taimanin's Bad End.  
**_**Uehara Rin is being taken by an old enemy with a huge grudge and an even huger boner, do something about that.**_**  
Rewards:**

**\+ 3.000 exp.**

**Vastly increase closeness with Uehara Rin.**

**?**

**Failure:**

**Uehara Rin becomes mind broken.**

**Uehara Rin becomes a sex slave.**

**Uehara Rin becomes a monster factory.**

**Death.**

**Accept/Refuse.**

God.

God. Fucking. Damn it.

Fucking _see! _Bullshit like this was what I was talking about! No matter how badass the taimanin is build up to be, no matter how powerful or untouchable she seems, disaster _always_ happens, they _always_ end up raped and brutalized. It happened with freaking Asagi! The supposedly best taimanin ever, and now it's about to happen to Uehara Rin.

I'm lucky; I'm very fucking lucky this monster is ignoring me. I remember what usually happens to males related to the taimanins. Routinely getting cucked is the last of their problem; one got raped, then turned into a crazed tentacle monster, the other got turned into a meatball, yeah a freaking _meatball, _and stayed _alive _too.

This guy is completely ignoring me; he is walking away now and taking Uehara with him, so yeah, it looks like I'm getting out scot-free. Lucky.

Very lucky.

…

…Fuck

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

_FUCKKKK!_

**Skill created: Poison Resistance lvl 01.  
**_**Increase the body's natural resistance against all poisons.**_

WHY IN THE WORLD AM I DOING THIS!? Why am I putting everything I have in moving this damn sluggish body for a woman I only met three days ago!? She is hot, but she is not hot enough to risk my life over, so fucking why!

**Poison Resistance leveled up!**

Just lay down! Get some rest! Pretend this is all a bad dream! No need for me to desperately turn toward their direction. He is carrying over one shoulder her like a sack of potatoes. Oh look, he is injured; I could clearly tell by the way he limped, or the fact his whole body was covered with barely healed lighting burns, _or his general lack of a fucking arm! _Yep, he is injured all right, doesn't change the fact he is a _level 30 Orc!_

**Poison Resistance leveled up!**

I should really fucking stop raising a trembling arm in their direction like a freaking chuunibyou. Great, you can raise your arm now kid, congrats, now lower it down before you hurt yourself, and you _will_ hurt yourself. I was _not_ ready for taimanin's bullshit; the freaking level 30 mob was enough proof of that. Hell, I was barely ready for Ranma 1/2! I should stick with Ranma 1/2, getting my power up, play it safe. NOT CONCENTRATING MANA UP MY ARM WHILE HOPING FOR A MIRACLE!

**Poison Resistance leveled up!**

_God_, it was brilliant, it was wonderful, it felt warm and powerful, and it was _sooo_ fucking energizing! My first example of outside magic; it was barely a spell, only a ball of mana with the vague command of fucking everything it touched. Ok, now fucking what!? Maybe tone down the brightness and concentrate it on a smaller point?

**Poison Resistance leveled up!**

Holy fuck, where did my day went!? From saving kittens from trees to holding a ball of mana in my hand while trying to aim with a shaky arm at sight at the retreating monster taking the pretty lady away. This is it, hum? The moment of truth: Can I shoot the devil in the back knowing I would most likely miss? Can I do that for a woman I barely know?

There is _Death_ flashing over the consequences of failure.

The devil stomped into a stop, probably noticing the blue brightness on his back, or the low buzzing the raw mana was making. It turned to cast a look towards me.

The ball of magical fuck you hit him right on the side of his head.

There was light, a light so bright that cast away the night for a single moment. Then a pop echoed, similar to the baboon from earlier but louder and meatier. And then straps of meat, pieces of bones, and bits of brain matter began to rain. The headless body stood upward for an impossible second before it fell to the ground in a heavy thud. The still paralyzed form of Uehara Rin fell beside it with a squeak.

My arm dropped to the ground, and I just… panted, my body trembling, my heart pounding behind my ears.

I… I got him.

**Quest completed! **

**\+ 3.000 exp.**

**Your closeness with Uehara Rin has vastly increased.**

**?**

**Level up!**

**Level up!**

**Level up!**

**Level up!**

I let out a struggling breath and forced my body to the side with a grunt. Placing me on my back while looking at the night sky and the glow of the lamppost.

**Skill created through special action: Internal mana control lvl 01.  
**_**Helps you control the internal flow of your mana, decreases the change of spell failure, increases spell efficiency. **_

**Skill created through special action: Arcane Mastery lvl 01.  
**_**Gives intuitive grasps over arcane subjects,**__**decreases the change of spell failure, increases spell power.**_

**Skill created through special action: Arcane sneak attack lvl 01**  
_**Increases the damage of spells over unaware targets.**_

**Spell created: ****unnamed****  
**_**A concentrated sphere of raw mana carrying a single intent.**_

I read the words but didn't get them; my mind was still riling from the stress. Above me, came the confused mumbling of Uehara Rin, probably trying to ask what had happened or if I was all right but failing due to a paralyzed tongue.

Finally, I placed my arm over my face and laughed in relief.

Thus ended my third day in Nerima. Hopefully, I'll make it to the end of the week.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04

* * *

Kappas are annoying little buggers whose entire species is in dire need of exterminatus. They are a bitch to fight and always aimed for your ass if you gave them a chance.

No better way to develop a hate towards a monster than facing one who keeps trying to finger you.

The one I was fighting now was particularly annoying, mostly because it had wised up after a few bats to the face and was fighting carefully rather than the reckless abandon of the others of his species.

I was circling around it, moving my bat to one hand from another, trying to confuse and lead it to a mistake. Then I shifted my body to the side and threw my weight around a swing.

The yokai saw it coming and parried the hit with the swing of its own arm. It was sent back with a shrieked in pain due to my superior strength anyway, but the damage wasn't enough to kill it.

Ranma clicked his tongue loudly.

"You're holding your breath again! Stop holding your breath, idiot! You have to time it with your movement!"

"Easier said than done!" I bit back without looking at him. I'd learn that doing that opens me to an attack and makes Ranma laugh his ass off when it hits.

"No, I'm pretty sure saying is harder. I could do that since I was _three!"_ The bastard was sitting on the teacher's desk of the classroom that we were in, spitting watermelon seeds on the mist-shape students loitering around in the mirror lunchtime.

"You were a red belt when you were three!" I protested, parrying the strike of the increasingly desperate yokai.

"That sounds more like a you problem, rather than a me problem— Posture! Watch your posture! How the hell you're not tripping over your own feet!?"

I groaned. Ranma may be a martial art genius, but he's definitely not a teacher. Most of his 'tips' consisted of barely explained instructions and vague directions without any visual representation whatsoever. He just drops those on my lap and goes off to do his own thing. Then he comes back later to give insults/criticisms while laughing at my failures.

I should have expected that, honestly, Ranma could be a cocky bastard sometimes.

… But it _is_ working; from a practical standpoint, it meant I was getting hit less and landing hits more often. The progress was very subtle, so much so that I don't think I'd ever notice if I wasn't getting visual feedback from my gamer system.

Whenever I follow Ranma's instructions, the attributes bonus happens more often, and because of his help and the way he directed me to fight, I had managed to unlock the **Brawling Mastery** skill, which was currently on level 2, and the **Blunt Weapon Mastery** skill, which was on level 01. Basically, I'm definitely—

The Kappa leaped towards me, grubby claws first. I sidestepped beside his trajectory and brought my bat down before it could do anything.

**\+ 1 Str.**

**Blunt Weapon Mastery leveled up!**

—Getting stronger!

I let out a deep breath, watching the body of my fifteenths Kappa fade and then pop into a smoke.

This wasn't the body of an infant Kappa at level 01 anymore, no; it was an adolescent Kappa at level 05. A clear sign of my progress.

"Finally!" Ranma bit the last of his watermelon and quickly spat the last stream of seeds over the unsuspecting ghosts.

"How did it go on your end?" I asked, seeing him jump from the desk. Ranma wasn't having the explosive results I was, of course, but the attrition with the mobs had quietly bumped him up a level. I doubt he even noticed.

The Martial Artist gave me a cheeky grin and waved a victoriously full money pouch, one of the many I had brought when it became clear that our pockets and individual wallets alone weren't going to cut it. "There are also some of the gross parts that you're into." He finished throwing me a tied-up bundle of Kappa fingers.

Yeah, money isn't the only loot the Kappas left. I imagine it's for a still unknown alchemical system or something like that, for now, though, I don't know for what they served so I was keeping a Witcher 3 mindset and storing them for later if I had space. The fact there were only fingers told me that Ranma left the bloody hearts and eyes that also usually appears behind.

"Lunch's gonna end soon." Ranma commented, stretching his back, "Mannn, today was fun! Those guys are much stronger than the tinier versions."

"I leveled up my Id creation skill one level since yesterday, that puts it on level 4." I had explained part of how my power worked to Ranma when he insisted. As expected, he didn't get most of it, not much of a gamer this one. But he did get that level up means getting stronger.

"Uh-huh." He mumbled, and then he frowned a little. "But I was serious about what I said you'know? Your footwork _really_needs some work. I mean, it's not _horrible_, but it's far from being good."

I sighed; Yeah, I got to put a stop to that. "Ok… so _how!?"_ I ask, putting hard emphasis on the question.

He sent me a confused look.

Wait, is he really…

"Ranma." I began slowly. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not a martial artist. I don't know anything about martial art beyond some books I read, and putting knowledge of a page to practice in the middle of a fight is really hard. So yeah, when you say I have to improve my footwork, or work on my balance, or to watch my breaths, I literally don't know how, because I don't know what you're talking about."

It was not… exactly like that, because I've been trying to use the advice he was giving me to the things I read/absorbed. But my point still stands.

Ranma looked directly at me for a couple of long seconds. I could see gears turning behind his blue eyes.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, then raised a hand and started scratching the back of his head. "You're like, a complete amateur, um, sorry about that. It's not often I get to meet one of you."

I was about to retort when I paused and thought about it, most of everybody Ranma knows or even _will_ know is involved with martial arts in some way or another… Holy shit! I'm as close he has to a normie friend!

"Ok, so like…" Gone was the direct, sure direction, and instructions; he seems to be struggling with what to say. "No, maybe, hold on…" It was so unlike Ranma that I couldn't help it but stare.

"Maybe the basics?" I suggested.

"Basics? Yeah, like, the very basic, that could work."

Ranma stepped closer, standing right beside me in a distance that was ease to see him even in the thick fog— The fog as been getting thicker with each raised level; the ghost images of the people are also becoming less human-like, just vague shapes in the mist— He spread his legs, lowered his hips and slowly rotated his arms into a stance while keeping his back straight.

"Watch. Keep your eyes on my feet."

Then he started moving, and frankly, it was like seeing a well-oiled machine.

It was like… he was transitioning between a series of poses: his feet twisted around the place, his legs roamed, his arms rotated and thrust with his hand clenched in fists or relaxed, and so he went, pose 1, pose 2, pose 3, pose 4 and so on. There wasn't any power or speed on it, just a fluid, continuing motion that seems almost natural to him.

It was damn impressive, I mean, I've seen him doing some impressive shit before, but it was away at highs speeds or higher up, this time he deliberately slowed down for me to see. And I'd managed to recognize some from the books I read, it was still a bit different than the images there, but I asked anyway.

"Is that Aikido?"

"Aikido… Tàijí quán, Bak Mei, some Karate..." Ranma continued to move while he talked, he didn't spare a glare towards me. "Now, you try."

With some hesitation, I move to the first position, Ranma also did so too and allowed me to copy him. I tried my best to continue to copy him while we started to move.

In the third position, I lost my balance and fell on my ass, causing Ranma to snigger.

"Man, you really suck Hiroshi."

"Shut up!" I said while getting back up.

We continued like that until I managed to make rough imitations of the seven katas Ranma showed me. Then he stopped and gestured me to go on.

I did much, _much_ worse without him to copy on my side, and he made sure to insult, belittle, and laugh at all my many mistakes. When I finally managed to do a much rougher imitation of the seven, he nodded.

"Alright, stop."

"What, now!?" I couldn't help it but to fume, in my defense, he did nothing but laugh at me this entire time, shit like that wore out someone.

He didn't even register my mood. Instead, he moved into the first three stances and told me to follow.

I did, and he told me to do it again. On the third time, he nodded.

"Do this all the time until you can do it without thinking. After that, find a fence or something and do it on top of it. Don't forget to breathe like I showed you to."

It was my time to nod and finally relax; I noticed then the faint layer of sweat that seems to have gathered over my skin.

I pushed the beginning of a giggle fit to the back of my mind; this was the first real martial art lesson I'd ever received and from _Saotome Ranma_ of all people. Before anything could show on my face, however, I changed the subject.

"So, was that a mishmash of many martial art styles?"

Ranma leaned back on one of the chairs. By the way the ghosts were moving. I'd said we only have a couple of minutes to get back to class.

"Kinda. It's only the basics, which are similar no matter the art. They are like foundations, but each is built for their individual styles and have their own quirks. What I showed you was a blend of various, taking the parts that would have geared it toward one style in particular and substituting with motions that left it open for different ones, so you don't create bad habits that hinge your learning towards… Am I making sense?"

…

"Ranma… You almost look smart right now."

He laughed and threw the rest of his uneaten watermelon at my face.

I dodged and continued. "So that was some type of super foundation exercise."

Ranma nodded. "You got to get it right and make it like, part of you. A lot of people think that foundations are important, they are not _just_important; they are everything. You got to have your foundations right, if anything, Hiroshi."

I blinked at the strange intensity he said this "And then?"

He sent me a cheesy grin.

"Anything Goes."

Woah… Wait a second— "…Oh, come on! You baited me to say that!"

The foggy air was filled by Ranma's sniggers.

He didn't laugh for long, however, as something dropped from the ceiling and splashed on his naked arm.

"Agh!" His shout was more of surprise than pain.

Ranma wiped the gelatinous green good off himself and sidestepped away. He'd managed to get it out before it could do more than irritate his skin. "Oh hell no! These things again!"

It was my turn to laugh. Those were the second species monster that spammed from this ID level, and the first one that didn't match the yokai theme that had been going on: it was a slime, the classic mob monster from too many games. And Ranma was quick to develop a healthy distaste for the species as a whole.

To begin with, they were utterly immune to physical attacks, which meant that Ranma's attempts, while often devastating to whatever the slime was standing on, did jack shit to the monster itself. The best he could do was get his skin red and raw due to the thing's acidic jello bodies, something that annoyed the martial artist to no end. But what I think _really_ pissed him off was the tendency the monster has to cling in his clothes if he was female. And that was something that _always_ happened: whenever Ranma was in his female form in Illusion barrier with slime monsters in it, one of the fuckers would get in his clothes and melt the fabric away.

Weirdly enough, this didn't happen when he was male. The monsters seem to target the skin rather than the clothes when he was in his male form. I shelved that under anime tropes.

"What's wrong, Ranma? Scared of a little Jello?" I said in a mocking tone.

"Shut up!" The slime leaped towards him, and memories of afternoons in only his boxers made him jump onto one of the tables. "Just kill it already!"

Chuckling, I raised my arm and triggered my spell, a handy trick that I created myself and gave it the unimaginative name of **Mana Bolt**. The game system made it so the magic would happen automatically, I intuitively knew there was a chance of failure but it was so microscopically small it barely registered. At that very moment, I could decide to pour in more Mp on it to make the spell larger or take manual control from the game system to shape mana under my own skill, but that would raise the chance of failure and bump the casting time to a few seconds.

On 'default' as it is— with most of the blunt work handled by the game system— it took a fraction of a moment for a baseball size sphere of mana geared towards destruction to appear in my hand. The following bust of will to launch it was trivial.

The brilliant ball crossed the air in a second and yanked all the creature's Hp in a single hit. It's Jello body turned liquid and splashed around the fist-size hole and cracks that the spell had opened on the floor.

"And once again, the great Hiroshi-sama saved his loyal squire from the clutches of the jelly terror." I mocked.

"Yeah? Let me bring some twenty fishfaces here and let's see who'd be saving who." Ranma mumbled angrily as he descends back down.

I continued to laugh at his insecurities, but then a rather ominous sound echoed across the room. We both looked at the mist, and considering that this is a standard classroom, it must have come from the direction of the door.

There were a rattler and a crash, and something began hissing.

"Oi, what was that?" Ranma began, but my mind was only on one thing.

I've read the webcomic where my powers come from, many things were different there, but some things, like my ID Create skill, worked remarkably similar to what it was shown, so I had no reason to doubt it wouldn't continue to do so.

And among the functions of the skill, there is one that hasn't appeared to me yet. It had created pocket dimensions outside of the normal reality, it had created a series of monsters to populate this pocket dimension, but until now it hadn't thrown any _boss_at us yet.

I think… I think that changes today…

A wriggling mass of greenish-gray goo appeared at once, like a moving wave that crushed and absorbed the chairs and tables on its way. I blinked at the sight of the gigantic fucking— Wait a second…

"Oh, come on!" Ranma threw his hands to the air in frustration at the sight of a giant version of his hated enemy.

Excerpt… it wasn't, not to the Gamer at least; instead of a single tag declaring the name of a terrible monster with an overpowered level, there are tags everywhere across its length reporting multiple **Slimes** from various levels.

This isn't a boss this is a—

"A bunch of slimes fused together!" I finished out loud, holy shit; I didn't know they could do that.

Turning an accusatory eye towards Ranma, I asked. "Ranma, did you just aggro all the slimes in the map to our location!?" because he sure as hell couldn't kill them.

He picked up a chair and threw it to the mass, watching it sink inside and start to dissolve. "I have _no_ idea of what you're talking about!" He shouted, and I believed him. He couldn't catch a gamer reference to save his life.

Ok then, if it was not a boss, then there was no problem: the exit was only an ID Erase away… But I got to be honest; I kinda wanna see how I fare against this thing.

I raised my arm towards it and my other one to steady it while I prepare a Mana Bolt with as much Mp I dared to—

Then there was a pull the back of my uniform, and I was suddenly off my feet and falling a three stories high fall.

"_WHATTHEFUCK!"_ Was my calm and collected response to being an unwilling participant on the act of jumping off a building. Right before I splashed into the waters of the pool and my scream became a gurgling.

"Way to ruin the mood, Ranma." I said after reorient myself and get out of the pool, "I totally could have handled it!"

"Oh, shut up! Haven't you see the way that thing just _ate_ through that chair!?" Argued Ranma, now a hot red-hair with wet clothes crouching at my side to catch her breaths. "That thing's acid is way stronger than the smaller ones, and it was coming at us fast and in all directions. You _avoid_the wall of acid coming in your direction, Hiroshi, not try to blow it up!"

… Okay, she does have a point… but still, I could put a hole of my size in concrete walls with the amount I was putting behind my Mana Bolt, so I don't think it would be that badly… Eh, whatever, it's the past now, and it was a good point.

"Wow, careful there, you'll _actually_make me believe you're smart."

"Oh please, I'mma genius."

Can I just say that Ranma's sass sounds way better when she is female?

She rose up a hand and flexed her fingers. "Now, warm water, gimme gimme."

The kettle of warm water I kept in my inventory quickly multiplied to three, then to five over these last couple of days. You'd be amazed how many times Ranma unwillingly turns into a girl on a daily bases, and even more amazed by the silliness of the events that usually led to this result. The anime illustrated well enough, but there were some days that cold water just seems to _really_ follow him. Frankly, I don't know how the hell the school's still in the dark about his curse considering how often it triggers around here.

On the plus side though, hanging around with me and having easy access to warm water had lessened the anger he felt at being suddenly transformed, now he mostly grumps and looks annoyed rather than letting out screams of frustration like before.

While Ranma changed into her less attractive form, I turned around and activated my ID Erase skill, with a snap of my fingers for flare. The gray, misty world broke away around us to reveal clear blue skies and a wave of noise.

"Well. Now we are well and truly late." I said with my hands on my hips, watching the desert hallways from the building's windows. "Can't be helped then."

"Want to push this thing to after school?" the now male Ranma suggested/asked. "No, wait. If we do this after school my old man and Tendo-san will nag me for letting Akane go home alone." Ranma grimaced and scratched his head. "I'mma let this whole engagement thing blow over first."

Oh, poor dude, he is under the impression he can just square his shoulders and weather the storm until it passes. He has no idea what's waiting for him.

I open my mouth to reply and maybe give him some idea of what's in his future when a dull thud the sounded distinctly like a broon or a wooden sword hitting the ground echoed behind us.

I sighed, someone had seen us, not really a big deal giving the craziness of this place; if the student body here can accept martial arts right out of wuxia movies than they can accept two guys appearing out of nowhere—

The tall, kendogi-wearing form of Kuno Tatewaki greeted us with a wide, shocked stare.

He very slowly closed his eyes. Bringing a trembling fist up and starting letting out barely restrained sounds of pure anger.

"As I live and breathe… _Black Wizardry_ at my school! Damn you, Saotome Ranma, how low can you get!? I, KUNO TATEWAKI, FURINKAN'S AZURE TORNADO, WILL NOT LET YOU AND YOUR FOUL SORCERER GO UNPUNISHED!"

And that was my first meeting with Kuno. Not with words, but with terrifying bokken's swings that shattered the ground, trees, and every construction close by.

Me and Ranma totally kicked his ass though.

-0-0-0-

I went to my apartment early today.

Part of me was hoping…

When I reached the top of the stairs, I sighed. No homeless dressing hentai ninja on my doorsteps.

She wasn't in my apartment, and she wasn't in _her_ apartment, either—She'd given me the key to it so I could get her prone body inside a few days ago— I looked around the clean space that before was a mess of thrash and half-eaten junk food but found nothing; Uehara Rin was nowhere to be seen.

After our encounter with that… Orc, I managed to drag the paralyzed taimanin back to my apartment so we could recuperate. On the next morning, we had a talk… well, _I_ talked, she just kind of stuttered.

It was surprisingly unproductive because it skidded around topic she very obviously wasn't allowed to tell me. On her turn to questions, I used her reluctance to share what was obviously her governmental involvement and her status as a taimanin as an excuse to keep some secrets of my own, going with the scenario that I was a fledgling mage who just awoken to his powers, which wasn't far from the truth.

By the end, the only thing we managed to gather was that both of us knew about the supernatural, not very useful considering I already knew about that. And, even if Uehara was very, _very_ thankful, I realized quickly that she literally couldn't tell me much without having to kill me or something similar. By that point, the clock was ticking, and the Japanese part of my brain was demanding me to go to school, so I postponed the rest of the conversation for later, but not before yanking a promise that she would keep my abilities a secret for now.

She was gone when I got back.

It has been five days.

I panicked, of course, thinking more Orcs had come and taken her away, I look around for a good while, but there was no lead, no signs of struggle, and no pop up wisdom giving me a quest related to it, so in the end I just…

… Well. No use moping around, I guess, there is still some daytime to burn, and I didn't want to lazy around and watch crappy tv shows.

I want to get stronger.

Pulling a deep breath and pushing my worries away. I locked the door to Uehara's apartment behind me and went on to do some solo magical training.

No way I'm facing an overpowered monster with my pants down ever again.

-0-0-0-

_"MINON!"_

**Minotauron  
Cardian of The Strength  
Level 24.**

… Ok, in my defense, it wasn't with my pants down… kinda.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Boy this is ironic after the last chapter rant about short chapter eh?

Chapter 05, part 1

A dark moon shone down its paradoxical moonlight over the grayed-out world, illuminating the large, half-destroyed temple grounds and accentuating the frantic movements of the ghostly images while they scouted the place and gathered their wounded.

The monstrous woman tried to lash out against a ghost that wandered too close, only to have her limb pass harmlessly across their form. She growled loudly at this before throwing her head back in a scream of anger and frustration.

The sound boomed across the noiseless world, reaching an intensity it wouldn't have otherwise. The tiny fists scrunched my shirt around my shoulders; the little girl clinging on me trembled at the roar, but even then, she refuses to make a noise.

The monster buffed, letting out long streams of smoke from her nostrils. Her face seems to be able to achieve a surprising level of beauty, but now it was stretched and twisted into a bestial display of pure fury. It turned to our direction; her fierce, single-colored eyes promising long-suffering with a hate-filled glare. Her hooved feet dug deep into the cobbled floor in preparation for a rush.

**Minotauron  
Cardian of The Strength  
Level 24.**

I sighed, supporting the little girl on my back with a hand while tightening the grip over the handle of my baseball bat with another.

How the hell did I get myself into this again?

Oh yeah, I was training…

-0-0-0-

"Mana Bolt!"

The baseball-sized sphere of mana crossed the air in a brilliant flash of light. The noise it made when impacting the large tree was odd, like someone had put a normal 'thud' produced by two heavy objects hitting each other and put it through an electronic autotune. Nevertheless, the tree shook by the force of the magical impact, and a new hole appeared in its bark.

I swallowed my shame for having spoken such chuuni thing out loud and crossed the distance of my targeting range.

"… Can't believe this actually worked." I mumbled out loud, passing my hand over the two open holes in the wooden surface, the most recent one was notably bigger and deeper than the one on it's left.

Turns out saying the name of the spell out loud really does increase its performance.

I sighed, that was neat, but I don't know if I can handle Ranma's laugher if I go around declaring 'Mana Bolt!' on all my magical attacks. But since I was utterly alone here…

A lone slime was moving in the distance. By the oddly cheerful way it bounced over the place, there was no doubt this wasn't simple slime but actually a reincarnated salaryman learning his ropes.

"MANA BOLT!"

And the slime was no more, its dreams of Utopia dying with it.

Chuckling, I noticed the strength of the spell also increased if I put emotion behind the words; overall, it was an annoying quirk but could really make a difference in a pinch because it increased the power of the spell without any additional Mp cost.

Satisfying at the success of my small experiment, I turned toward the rock with the soda cans prompted on top, ready for the next one.

I started with something I've already tried; spells, or at least Mana Bolt, when triggered by the game system consisted of concentrating enough mana on one of my extremities, briefly manifesting it outside of my body to form a sphere, then launching it with a flex of my Will. This process was made automatic by the gamer system, and one of the first things I did was triggering a lot to pay attention to all the details it goes into it. Because let me tell you, reproducing what I did on that day without the rush of panic and adrenaline was not easy. It took an embarrassing amount of time to get it right.

But I've managed. I could make the entire process on my own now, which sacrificed the time and efficiency of the system for more control. The most common and easiest thing to do with this control was to pour more mana, or Mp, into the mix to increase the size and the damage of the thing, but that's just the obvious.

What I'm trying to do was to change the more… subtle aspects of it.

First came my most recent success, the change was in the intent behind the mana because, apparently, mana outside of the body without intent is hard as fuck to maintain, but I managed to imbue it with the intent of 'push' before shooting the sphere toward the soda can.

The can was sent flying way above the tree lines, getting lost among the forested area of this municipal park.

I smiled at this display; today was easier than yesterday, quite like training a muscle. I just had to shape my mana in a slightly different way. As for the result, I knew for a fact that the target itself doesn't receive direct damage from this version of spell alone, it's just blasted backward by a mighty rush of force, like a force push that starts as a brilliant ball of energy, or a banishing charm from harry potter… which only now I realize it's a better allegory: it's basically a poor man banishing charm.

In my opinion, the resulting effect different enough to be its own spell, but the system remains silent on this.

And like with every successful attempt of this particular brand of Mana Bolt, I'm reminded of that special time a short while ago where Ranma got in the way of one of my first attempts and was launched into a group of slimes. I got kicked for it, but it was by a very naked Ranma-chan, so it was worth it.

Moving on from my little banishing charm. Came my less successful attempt.

I activated the spell, this time turning the intent behind into 'kinetic'. I had to keep it simple because if I tried 'kineticenergy' it'd be like pushing a rock through a plastic straw. This way, the energy at last moved.

Remember what I said about being like a muscle? Yeah, 'kinetic' was like flexing a muscle that only existed in theory until yesterday, but now it had been proven and you're still trying to figure it nuances.

I got it, somewhat, I felt the mana shaping in a form too much like 'push' for my liking, but I did manage to bend it in a different way. The result was a ball of mana that, unlike all the others, was semi-solid and presumably would hit like a steel ball.

The targeting soda and a piece of the rock it was on exploded, producing a shower of shrapnel in all directions.

I blinked at that. It was much more successful than the other times I'd tried, but unfortunately, that level of success didn't hold on as I moved to the other targets.

Sighing at the partial and much smaller explosion of the last soda can, I finally lowered my hand and shook away the tingling feeling. It always gets like that when too much mana passes through.

And that's the end of my 'stable' arsenal of magic. I walked to a nearby bench and erased the illusion barrier. The usual noises of the nighttime, the cricketing of insects, the cries of nocturne birds, the distance sounds of cars and people all greeted me as the world went back to normal.

I like this park better than the one near my house. There were fewer people, less illumination, and much more vegetation, which meant more target practice. There was also a mount with a big temple built on top; I imagine it brings many visitors on the day, but at night it seemed pretty empty. I could see some of it if I crank my neck up.

Pity this place is far from my apartment, near the border of Nerima and Itabashi, really. I won't be able to come here every day; I only came here tonight because I was training my ID Create skill and wanted to see how much distance it could cover.

After my Mp refilled, I created another ID, immediately filling the place with slimes. I made short work of them before they could fuse and set off to work on the 'hard' part of my training.

Concentrating into the feeling of my mana, I reach towards it without the assistance of the gamer system, pulling it out to the outside so I could see the blue glow.

The thing about magic is… I don't know anything about magic.

I've managed to use my mana and create a spell on the heat of the moment; there is no instruction or feeling that can lead me to the next step. I'm doing my best breaking down what I can do to build something new. To use the proven knowledge of mana manipulation, intent imbuement, and effect of the will to test and stretch the limits of what I could do.

It was… not as easy as it sounded.

All the success I had was related to the spell I've created before, trying to build something from the ground up was met with failure each time. I had some plans for it; elements, shields, traps, maybe some binding magic, I tried to turn these ideas into intent but got nothing.

**Internal Mana Control leveled up!**

Well, not _exactly_ nothing, all this playing around with magic, which for me consisted of experimentation with mana itself, as made my Internal Mana Control skill sky-rock, now earning the spot of my highest level skill at level 7.

… Ok, I suppose not all were failures, I did manage to modify my Mana Bolt a bit, even if not to the extent I wanted, but it's still some progress.

I lost track of time sitting here, trying to shape my mana in weird ways and imbue it with odd properties, the fact I was playing with freaking _magic_ alone was enough to leave me a bit giggly, I drew strength from that.

All my attempts were met in frustration… but one, I guess.

I rolled around a physical ball of mana in my hands, wincing a bit from how rapidly it was eating through my Mp. This is a result of me exercising my Will in a different way; instead of willing the spell to shoot, I willed it to 'hold' instead. The thing then turned physical, well, kinda-physical.

I let the ball drop. It hit the ground and actually bounced. Though on the second bounce it blew up and took a portion of the ground with it, making me jerk upwards to avoid the ballistic floor pieces.

Ok, cool, delay reaction, I wonder if I could use that and… Ah!

I should erase this barrier. I don't know if the boss is called from time spend inside or the number of monsters killed, but I don't want to find out while I'm without my main tank and DPS.

The world gained color and noise again. I let out a sigh due to the relief I always feel when going back. The cold breeze danced over my slightly sweaty skin.

The sensation was so comfortable that I just sloped down on the bench and relaxed. It was pretty late now, maybe I should get going…

Mp first.

So I let my Mp refill while listening to the night's melody, after hours of magical workout, it was a quite transcendent experience.

**Spiritual Senses leveled up!**

Hum!?

The sudden level up was so surprising that I almost jumped to my feet. I still stood from the bench with my guard firmly up. Considering that the last time my spiritual senses leveled was against that satori, I felt somewhat justified.

Spiritual senses basically let me get a feel for the supernatural, but now I'm not feeling anything… Wait…

I closed my eyes and concentrated, trusting the fact that the system wouldn't react without reason. If there was a supernatural event or creature close by, I wanted to know.

There is! It's distant… it's blipping like a— movement. It's moving!

It's not coming towards me, though.

I felt the faint presence in the far distance, so faint I had to keep my eyes closed even when I turned to its rough direction, I felt— and then noticed the direction it was going; upward the park, maybe on the opposite edge of where I was going to the center and up—the temple.

When the presence reached what I assume was the temple's walls, it stopped.

For a few seconds, there was no sound, just a looming wave of silence, like the world was holding its breath.

Then, a giant dome-shaped form shimmered over the horizon; it was so faint I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Just as quickly as it appeared, however, it _broke_.

I _choked _on air and_ flinched._ A soft guff of wind passed across my body, a shockwave of something inexplicable.

**Spiritual Senses leveled up!**

_Holy_ shit!

The supernatural presence was gone. It was completely overpowered by the absolute_ lighthouse_ that was the temple itself.

I can't even— I was there, right beside it all this time, and I didn't even realize it!

My mind began formulating an explanation for all of this, it was quite simple; the temple was supernatural, it was hidden by a barrier and so didn't trigger my Spiritual Senses, but then that thing, whatever it was, had taken that barrier down in what was most likely an invasion.

My mind raced on about the possibilities and details of such event. Who are they? What is this temple? How could it hide from my senses? Did they know about me? – All while I recovered to the sensorial overwhelm and got used to the feeling of the temple. It was like the first time I've entered an Illusion Barrier, only instead of having my senses flaring up in every direction, this was a single one with enormous intensity.

The air began carrying the distant sounds of fighting and shouting, and my body was moved before I realized, crossing the park's suspiciously dark walkways until I veered into the wide stairs to the temple.

**You have entered the area of influence of the Temple of The Heavenly Oni; all good alignment creatures are blessed while inside its boundaries.**

**You received the Blessing of the Heavenly Oni!**

**\+ 3 to all attributes.+ 20% to Hp and Mp regeneration**

Ok, _definitely_ supernatural!

I closed the popup and pushed past the last few steps towards the temple archway.

The place was downright majestic; with a vast open courtyard of white cobbled stones and a main hall that was just as imposing as it was beautiful, looming over the place, the rest of the buildings were arranged in the usual U formation, and I was sure there was more to see in the back.

The back, where the sounds of fighting were louder, a trail of smoke had made an appearance somewhere along my run, I could already tell most of the action was happening there.

When I was about half of the way through the courtyard, a woman wearing a Miko attire hastily exited the main hall and started running towards the entrance, and by consequence towards me.

I hadn't even had time to blink before the door _exploded _behind her, and _something_ came out. Something red and blue with hooves for feet's and a bigass pair of horns jutting out from its head.

"MINOTAURON!" It roared as it projected the horns forwards, the bones extending before anyone could properly react, piercing the Miko's shoulders and making her let out a cry of agony.

I was shocked by the sudden display of violence, but I managed to see something falling from the Miko's arms and letting out a pained shriek as it hit the ground.

I crossed the distance towards it in two seconds, quickly sliding to a stop and gathering the _trembling little girl_ into my arms.

The Miko let out a gasp when the horns piercing her body retreated. Blood gushed from her wounds as she fell to her knees and then to the ground. Reveling the monster standing behind her.

It was like a caricature of a female athlete, most of her body was covered by a thick, red fur, leaving only the area above the shoulders and a triangular patch around her bellybutton free to reveal a brilliant, light blue skin. Her face, crowned by auburn hair and massive horns, was remarkably feminine, save for her eyes, which gleamed with an alien, hard orange light, covering the entire organ in the color. Her lips curled to a bestial smile when she saw me alone with the girl, the skull-like armor around her holders and thighs rattled as she started to walk.

Until something blasted her on the back, making her yelp and snarl back.

"Begone, foul creature!" Cried an elderly but firmly built priest coming in from the hall with a passé of similarly dressed priests murmuring a loud continuing mantra behind him. "Your kind is not allowed here!"

Saying that he hoisted his prayer beads and joined the procession, his voice adding palpable intensity to the mantra.

The woman creature, which to my increase dismay, was looking more and more like some kind of cowgirl from hell, glowed from the priests' effort. With my Spiritual senses, but I could feel _something_ gathering over and around her form, exerting an invisible pressure.

But whatever it was, it wasn't enough. The monster growled louder, actually ignoring their efforts to turn towards me, or, more precisely, the little girl.

There was the sound of something cutting the air at high speeds, and then the monster yelped again as a localized explosion blasted her to the side.

**Spiritual Senses leveled up!**

I blinked and caught the sight in the distance. Mikos were pouring from the buildings around us, some clearly injured and bleeding from the early fight. They were rushing to battle positions wielding bows and arrows. The projectiles carried a faint supernatural energy within them, it was not mana, but it felt similar. When set flying, they briefly gained a pink tunnel effect made from that energy, and then exploded on the target.

The volley of arrows was knocking the monster woman back, and it was growing more consistent as more Mikos got into position. Soon there were men and women in traditional clothes running across the courtyard to provide melee support.

It was… impressive, the way they moved with such coordinated efficiency. The mantra got louder, a circle of lances as put in place, and the arrows kept raining. They were pushing the monster away from us.

I looked down at the little girl in my arms. She had latched herself on my shirt with a pretty thigh grip; I couldn't see much of her, save from a head full of black hair. She looked young; I wouldn't give her more than five.

"Him…Hime-sama…"

I looked up at the sound of the weak voice and immediately felt terrible. All that battle flare and the presence of the monster had made me forget about the dying Miko.

"Pleas… Please, t-take Hime-sama and… run away." The woman managed to wheeze out in a gurgling breath.

The horns probably caught her lungs, shit! I'm not a medic, and this is a bit beyond the first aid kit I keep in my inventory.

"Miko-san, don't speak, um, try to stay awake." I gathered the little girl— the 'hime' apparently— and raised her up, trying to think about something I could do about pierced lungs.

"P-please… Take her…" Her voice was getting weaker.

"Hey!" I shouted to the nearest group of warriors. "I need a healer- a medic, we got a wounded." I turned toward the Miko, holding the girl so she wouldn't see. "Don't worry, Miko-san. The rest are doing a good job. You should focus on staying alive."

"We can't… We can't… _Defeat it…"_

As soon as she said that, a_ roar_ broke through the night, followed by the sudden cries of pain and agony.

I saw people landing on the ground with sickening cracks, I saw the monster woman charge like a bull through the mass of bodies, the oversized horn snapping left and right to strike as many targets as possible. It was injured, clearly so, but the supernatural pressure over her body and the exploding arrows aren't doing enough to slow her down.

**New Quest: Stop the villain!  
**_**A classic monster of the week is wreaking havoc; stop it by any means necessary!**_**  
Rewards:**

**1.000 exp.**

**Increases closeness with The Heavenly Oni.**

**?**

**Failure:**

**Multiple deaths.**

**Multiple injuries.**

**Death**

**Accept/Refuse.**

How the hell that thing could be considered a monster of the week!?

"H-Hurry!... Pl…Please… Sa…save her…" It was amazing how long this woman was holding on.

What she was asking was the best course of action; this girl was clearly important, and the monster was after her, the logical action then would be to put as much distance between them as humanly possible, while everybody else keeps it busy.

But if I do that…

**Multiple deaths.**

These people will die…

I…

… That's right. The quest wasn't to save the girl anyway, it was to defeat the monster.

Looks like a group of people is circling around the onslaught and coming towards us, _finally. _I stood up and met them mid-way.

"Here!" I said, pealing the little girl from my shirt and handing her to one of them. "Keep her safe. I'll do something about that thing!"

"Hime!? W-who are you-"

"No time!" I shouted as I turned around. I felt one of them grab the back of my shirt, but I ignored it and kept going, even with their desperate shouts behind me.

I can't wait, the more I wait…

The monster woman was chucking one of the priests to the side when I set off towards her. I've been watching her since the fight started, the way her charged, the simple but effective battering rams she deployed, the way her horns seem to change size and sometimes shape to reach more people. I felt like I was starting to get used to her movements.

**Battle eye leveled up! **

I ran beside her but not directly behind her, I had to rely on my spiritual senses to dodge the occasional arrow, but they stopped flying as I got closer.

5 meters, 4 meters, _2! _

The monster threw her head downwards, aiming the horn towards a fallen Miko when I finally put her at the range of my skill.

"ID CREATE!"

The horn strike broke the coble floor right _underneath _the now ghostly Miko, whose pale face blinked profusely by the sudden disappearance of the monster that was about to end her life.

"HORA!" I shouted as drew my baseball bat from my inventory like a sword and used my momentum to bring it down the monster's head. Unfortunately, the following vibrations told me she had the time to turn her head slightly around so I'd strike the horn rather than the cranium.

Whatever, I didn't stay to talk, I quickly continued on my way to create some distance.

Once I choose the place to make a stand, I turned fully around and gripped my bat with both hands, facing the rising monster.

… Ah, fuck! I just brought the overleveled thing to a 1v1, didn't I?

I've better get some bonus exp for this!

There was a tiny, near impossible to hear whimper behind my back… and then I noticed the weight…

Looking back, I met the adorable yet tearful eyes of the temple's hime, who had latched herself on to my back of my shirt like a spider monkey.

"MINON!" The Minotaur woman cried.

… Oh hell.

-0-0-0-

With a roar, the monster charged towards me.

Yeah, no. I'm with a child, and I ain't Kenpachi; there is no way I'm fighting like this.

My opponent didn't care for the dilemma, of course; she continued her simple but devastating charge forwards, horns going for maximum piercing power.

I waited for her to get close, before lighting up my Mana Bolt. The sudden flash of light blinded her long enough for me to shoot a buffed version of a banishing blast in the middle of her torso, sending her flying backward until she bounced on the top of the Temple's entrance and fell down its long stairs.

Right, bought some time. Time for the smart move.

**ID escape failed, disparity between levels is too high.**

Fuck! Can't use it with enemies too strong inside the ID. Who designed that!? It's a death trap!

Ok, stop freaking out; you got a little girl that needs you.

I reached back and peeled the little hime away from my shirt, setting her on the ground while crouching in front of her. She immediately went for a hug.

"Now, kid, hey kid, listen to me!" I pushed her away gently but firmly, keeping my hands on her tiny shoulders.

This will probably bite me in the long run, but I sneak a peek of her name. "Ena-chan, right? Ena-chan, I need you to be brave ok." I said slowly, looking into her tearful eyes.

She was scared that much was obvious. Her whole body was trembling, head lowered with eyes firmly on the ground, cheek puffed by her apparent effort to not make a sound.

Angry roars echoed in the distance, making the girl flinch. The monster was coming.

"Did you live in that big house? Answer me, Ena-chan, focus on me." Slowly, she nodded, raising her eyes a little bit. "Have you ever play hide and seek in it?"

The crashing sounds were getting closer; I can imagine the monster breaking the steps of the temple's stair under her hooves as she rose. If we were lucky, the slope would slow her down.

"I want you to go into the house Ena-chan, find the best hiding spot you know of and stay there. When this is over, I'll go and find you, ok?"

She gave me a hesitant nod. When she raised her eyes and I could see worry in them, a particular kind of worry that no kid should ever feel ever.

I try to give her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about me. Oni-chan here is gonna beat that monster up for sure! Just go. Go!"

Lingering just for a second, she turned away and ran towards the temple's main hall.

I let out a long breath as I rose to my feet. Clenching the handle of my baseball bat hard to stop the shaking. This thing, this situation, is what I trained for.

The monstrous woman roared as she reached the top of the stairs and immediately set off in a mad rush towards me.

She was like a bull in more ways than one. Her movements were direct and straightforward, and for what I've seen she can't really change directions while moving. So, while preparing for the worse, I tried the same strategy again.

She closed one eye as the bright of the Mana Bolt hit her face. To my surprise, her horns twisted and shoot downwards to the ground to act as an anchor in case of a second banishing spell, a worrisome sign of intelligence, but not one I didn't take into consideration.

"GARH!" She cried in surprise and pain as the overcharged Mana Bolt focusing on destruction rather than banishment hit her. Next, my Baseball Bat landed right on her face with all my strength behind it.

"Ah crap!" I cursed as I leaped out of the reach of the hands that had reacted instantly, hopping backward and sidewards to create distance and direct her away from the Main Hall.

Three default Mana Bolts confirmed what I'd discovered; the two that hit barely made her flinch, and the last she actually dodged.

My strength alone isn't enough to damage her, and I had to overcharge my Mana bolt to make her feel something. Most of my normal attacks aren't going to cut it.

"MINON!" She screamed as she charged.

**Battle eye leveled up! **

This was a very frustrating battle.

The monster herself it's very easy to read, and with the level of my Battle eye skill, I could basically predict her movements to some degree. The biggest problem was the horns, which could shapeshift to a certain extent, thus making its movement hard to read. But I didn't have any efficient way to damage her as overcharged Mana Bolts were heavy on the Mp consumption, and I can't afford to empty my Mp and lose my magic and the ability to focus as a result here.

She charged, I hopped to the right at the last second and delivered a bat to the back of her head. She charged, and I made her pause by lighting my Mana bolt and going in on the offensive for a brief second. She charged, and I managed to land one overcharged Mana bolt. She changed and dodged the next spell I tried.

**Battle eye leveled up! **

To add insult, the Cowgirl was slowly wising up to my tactics. A battle of attrition where I wore down her remaining Hp wasn't possible anymore. Hell, I'd probably run out of breath sooner than her if this keeps up-

"MINON!"

She twisted her horn in the middle of the charge. I reacted with all I had but only managed to block it with my bat. It still buried on my side and sent me flying.

Shit.

I hit the ground and rolled, pushing through pain to use my bat to stop arrest my momentum, transferring the energy into propping me up- Yep, she's charging, she sure likes doing that.

I used her surprise for seeing me already up and running to send an overcharged Mana Bolt. At this distance she wouldn't be able to— The bitch jumped over it! She actually fucking jumped over it!

Thinking quickly, I shot a banishing Bolt while she was in the air and couldn't dodge, but I had to be fast, so I used the default mode, which only sent her to the other side of the courtyards rather than the other side of the park

My breathing was heavy, my body was uncomfortably hot and covered in sweat, my extremities were tingling due to Mana overuse, and my sides were _killing_ me. But the fact I could move it relatively fine told me nothing was cracked— Also, my bat is fucking bent, fucking _great!_

I _need_ to find another manner of attack. Because I'm gonna start losing ground soon.

And I was right on my prediction. My Battle eye still apparently also required a bit of Mp… or I was just getting exhausted. In any case it started failing on me. I was lucky the bitch didn't change or innovate her moves too much, but being unable to see the details resulted in a lot more hits getting inside my guard. And when those hits came from a _minotaur… _well.

I was sent flying again, god knows how many times that happened already. My body felt a giant bruise and my limbs were taking rather noodle-like qualities. I bounced on the broken stone floor and rolled until I hit a wall, spitting blood and a few teeth to the side.

Why the fuck was I fighting again? Shit, I shouldn't have done this. I should have attacked sneakily; that's the winning strategy right there, or better yet; I should have laid low, built up some more… Crap, why aren't I stronger… My game is broken; I should have gotten stronger faster…

I blinked, trying to focus the twin visions into one while I used the wall to push myself back up. Too many hits to the head… crap I had a plan, what was it? New move, maybe? That's why I've managed to coat my baseball bat with my mana; it didn't increase the attack, but it made it sturdier and less likely to break. No, no, something's missing. Just what…

There is nothing like a reminder of your pain to get your mind back on track. I was just pushing myself from the wall when a pair of horn speared both my sides, including my injured one, pinning me in place and making me cry out in agony.

"You' fucking _Bitch!"_ I hissed through bloody teeth, failing to move the huge pieces of bone keeping me in place.

Keeping me in place and keeping_ her_ in place too.

I matched her hateful glare with my own. Raising my hand directly over her face and pulling all my Mp left into a desperate attack.

"Let's see how you like this—GARKKK!"

I could feel my _everything _being _slurped _by those fucking pieces of bones on my sides.

My energy, I realized. It was taking my energy. Both my Hp and what I still had left of Mp began to drop rapidly. The sensation was _horrible, _like feeling your blood or your guts, or something else vital spill out to the outside. It was cold traumatic and really fucking _infuriating! _I think I screamed. I don't know the exact reason though.

"FUCK YOU!" I snarled, _forcing_ my body to move over the horrible sensations and putting my hand back up. If this whore wanted my Mp so badly, then _I'm going to give it to her in the most face-blowing way possible._

A pebble hit the bitch's head on the side, doing absolutely nothing other than drawing attention.

There is a child… no, wait; there has always been a child. She was crouching over a crack in the courtyard's floor, on an area close to the main hall's entrance, trying to pick up another pebble that could fit her hand and she could lift. Once found, she brought it up.

"L-Leave him alone!" The girl shouted, throwing the pebble at the monster. It missed.

Like a big cat with a new toy, the Minotaur woman lost all interest she had in me and retreated her horns without finishing me up. With a satisfied "Minon…" It turned and began to stalk towards the girl.

The girl, I told her to hide, I…

I look up, seeing the monster walking towards the defenseless little girl with a sensual sway on her hips, savoring each step. The girl was drawing back, with a few small stones on her arms. She occasionally hurled towards the approaching monster missing most of the time.

This is… again, fuck! I remember. Once fucking _again_, I'm fucking helpless in the dirt, trying all my might to do something that would bring a miracle.

I surged from my place in the ground, taking three steps forwards before sagging to one knee, my bent bat hanging limp on my side.

Fuck! fuckkkkk! What the fuck I've been doing all this time!? All those quests, all that training, was to keep something _exactly_ _like this_ from ever happening again, to not leave the safety of people around me in the mercy of fucking _luck_—

…Training.

That's right; I've been training.

Suddenly, or maybe by reacting to a primal desire that wasn't quite a mental command yet, my status screen shows up, displaying the proud number 9 that I fought and bleed for besides my level, each of my cultivated attributes below, and finally, the points I had available.

_**90.**_

I'm so fucking stupid.

With laughter that was a bit too unhinge for polite society, I distributed my points. If I had the time or the right mind, I might have stopped to carefully consider my choices. But as I was now, I mostly went with what my instincts told me and greedily pushed _**+30**_ points to my primary physical attributes, bringing all of them to a healthy +40 numbers.

… I didn't run; I _soared_ across the field. My bent baseball bat made supernaturally sturdy by the coat of raw mana crashed on the back of the monster head and _drove her to the ground._

"HORA!"

Take that BITCH! Time and time again of shrugging off my attacks, making a mockery of all my struggle to the point for not even bothering to avoid them by the end. Now you feel it _hãh!?_

Her horns had sunk into the cobles while her face was flattened against the ground. Her arms moved in an effort to push herself up.

She can keep dreaming!

I threw my bat up, feeling my back arch like a springboard, gathering every ounce of strength I had in preparation to _bring it down._

"HORA! HORA!"

The impacts almost boomed, and the bitch definitely felt it by the gasp she let out, her whole body flinching for the sharp pain on her back.

Pain? Let what she caused to all those people!?

"HORA! HORA! HORA!"

_"g-GAH!"_

Oh so she _can_ vocalize something other than her own stupid name like a fucking pokemon, I suppose she can give me her sad backstory now, and maybe the reason she _tried to kidnap a little girl! _

The cobbles exploded as one of her horns surged, twisting backward in an awkward angle—

_**"HORA!"**_

I _broke through them, _her unmovable horns that have been battering me this entire fight; her biggest defense and deadliest weapon. Not anymore.

I can fucking _win _this!

"HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA! HORA!"

**Blunt weapon mastery leveled up!**

**Blunt weapon mastery leveled up!**

**Blunt weapon mastery leveled up!**

**New skill created: Club Mastery lvl 01. **

**Club Mastery leveled up!**

I don't know long how long I stood there _pummeling _my baseball bat into her form. I only stopped after my Mp run out after the fragile coat of mana had frizzled out from my bat and it started to bent more and creak under the weight of the impacts, after my arms lost all strength and limped to my sides, my abused weapon dropping on to the floor.

The woman was a bloody mass of bruises and exposed bones by the time I finished. She couldn't do more than twitch and gurgle in her own blood. The force of the hits had dug a silhouette-eque crater of her form into the stones below, forming a large spiderweb of deep cracks that spread for meters from the center.

"C-Cleansing!" She croaked out to my surprise, I almost made to attack her again, but she busts in black flames before I could try.

Oh… ok.

**Quest completed: **

**\+ 1.000 exp.**

**Your closeness with The Heavenly Oni has increased**

**The Heavenly Oni has taken an interest in you**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**No deaths, a hero that strives saves everyone.**_

**\+ 500 exp.**

**Your closeness with The Heavenly Oni has increased**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**No matter what you do, save the loli!**_

**\+ 500 exp**

**?**

**?**

Ah, what a long stream of messages. The hell's the heavenly oni though?

The world tilted as my legs sagged beneath me, dropping my ass on the floor.

I just got to… catch my breaths a little bit.

"… A-Ano?"

"Hum?" I looked to my side and— oh yeah, the kid.

"A-Are you ok, oni-chan?" She asked with a hesitant voice.

"Yeah." I croaked. Shit, my face was all blood and grime, not exactly the reassuring kind.

I wiped the best I could on my sleeves. When I look back, the girl has drawing her arms upon herself, looking unsure of what to do.

Ah… I didn't know what to say either.

"…Thank you." I decided.

"H-Hum?" She lifted her head.

"That rock. If you hadn't distracted her back then I'd be in a lot of trouble. You saved my life."

"Oh. Um, y-you're welcome."

Nodding at her, I closed my eyes, intending to take just a few minutes to refill my energies in this quiet, empty world. A second later, I felt the girl sitting at my side.

Then, to my surprise, she giggled.

"Oni-chan. You beat her up!"

… I smiled, it was not a pretty one as I was missing a few teeth, but it was the thought that counted.

"I sure did."

**Title gained: Shounen Protector.  
**_**\+ 3 to Str, Dex, End, Agi, Int, Wis, + 30 to Cha, Bonus to attacks and defense, and increase in exp gain when protecting someone. Double that effects when risking your life doing so.**_

-0-0-0-

My version of the Gamer might not be as broken as others, but there are some things about it that I love. Hp refilling and its relation to real wounds was one of them.

Broken bones popped back in place, swelling shrunk to non-existence, bloody cuts and purple bruises disappeared. My body could simply put itself back together by the mere act of resting.

It actually took less time to refill my way larger Hp bar than before. This was due to the bonus on Hp recovery that the monstrous jump of my physical attributes had provided me. Now my Hp recovery was comparable to my Mp's, which had been enhanced from the start due to my reincarnation trait. So if we count that, I'm actually a pretty well-balanced person now in relation to my status screen. Excerpt for Dex, really got to put that up to speed.

I felt a little giggly at this; by the level of strength I'd displayed early and the speed I'd managed to run, it seems I'm finally on my way to catch up to my martial artist friend. I can't wait to show him that I can crack concrete too now.

The only thing left from my early ordeal was phantom sensations and bloody clothes. I still want to crawl into a bed and sleep until the next ice age, but I don't feel I'm about to pass out at any moment anymore.

Better get the girl back home, the ghosts were getting pretty hectic.

"Ena!" I called her.

It was impressive how much the girl changed attitude in so little time. I'd figure she'd be a polite and sheltered hime type, having born in a large and mysterious temple and all. But as time passed and she got more relaxed around me, she started acting… well, like a kid really; curious, full of energy, not afraid to ask questions and explore. She was a bit too polite for a kid of her age, but beyond that, I wouldn't be able to pick her among a busy playground.

Currently, she was walking around the courtyard, jumping over the cracks, following the ghosts around, and occasionally trying to balance my broken baseball bat in her tiny hands while shouting 'Hora!'. That last one did things to my heart.

She responded to the call immediately, running towards me while carrying my bat, the tip bumping on the ground as she moved.

Come to think of it; this was the first time I had a good look at her. Without crazy cow women and head injuries, that is.

She was tiny, but not small enough to be a toddle; I'm still maintaining my early guess of four or five, though it was most likely four. Her light blue yukata was dirty with grime and had a few torns here and there, but that has to be expected. She had a cute, round face with shoulder-length black hair styled in a neat hime-cut. Now, her eyes would raise a few eyebrows; they were of a captivating hazel color so dark that seems to shine red under certain lights — all and all a pretty normal kid.

The word floating above her head, though… gave me a hint about the reason why that minotaur woman was trying to take her.

**Seishuuin Ena  
Direct descended of the Amaterasu's bloodline.  
Level 01 **

…T-That's a pretty scary-sounding title right there.

I don't want to think about the implication of that right now, in fact, it's better that I stay clear from anything with the name of the _freaking Japanese sun goddess… _Oh, fuck what in the world I get myself into?

"Oni-chan?" Asked little Ena with a cute tilt of her head.

"Right! Right, sorry. It's time—" Wait, Seishuuin Ena? Where have I heard this name?... I shook my head and focused on the now. "I gonna get you home now, Ena-chan."

"Oh, ok." The girl dutifully stepped beside me and took my hand, ready to be led back home.

So cute.

Before I could do anything, however, there was a thump of power.

Now what!?

A single, Ofuda talisman appeared suspended in the air in the middle of the courtyard. Four green lines shoot from its edges, crawling forwards before separating to twist and turn on new directions. Four more Ofudas appeared in a cardinal formation around the first, each productizing their own green lines that joined with the previous ones to take form and shape.

My eyes widened as they drew a geometric magical circle in the air. It's magic; it's gotta be—

The circle pulsed in a flash of light so bright it forced me to use my hand to protect my eyes. When it was over, and I blinked away the white dots. I saw a woman standing in the place where the circle was a second ago. Her Miko uniform and whip-like ponytail billowing on leftover energy her entrance produced.

My eyes met her green ones, and they_ pierced_ me like a spear.

**New skill created: Detect Killing Intent lvl 01. **

Thanks gamer, I sure as hell wouldn't have realized without you telling me. It's not like I had a flash of her _ripping my heart out _or anything!

"Kan!" She declared loudly, her voice ringing across the place like a church bell. "Jin! Zai! Bo! Sa! Gyo! Jin! Han! Nya! Ha! Ra!"

With each bellowing chant, she takes a step forward. Her words shaking the air itself like a blazing sun in the desert. I could literally see the light bending and trembling and rolling into itself like it was building something up. And it was, somewhere inside my mind I knew that. I could feel it with my supernatural senses. It was like watching a tsunami in the distance.

"Do! Sai! _Yaku!" _She finished by circling her hands before her chest and _pushing._

The _whole world_ converged towards me.

… And passed through my form harmlessly… In fact, it was even… invigorating. The only reason I stepped back was because my legs were tense enough to snap in the first place, it was like the push of small wave on the beach.

"… Hah?" I mumbled, confused about the whole thing… then I noticed I could move again, and the woman was letting a relieved sigh.

So that was like a… purification shoot? Like shining sunlight on a guy to check if he's a vampire?

"MAMA!" Ena suddenly shouted and rushed towards the woman.

"Oh, Ena!"

I blinked at the sight of the two meeting in a hug… yeah, ok, that makes sense, I've seen enough anime to accept this chain of events. Still… This woman just _invaded_ my Illusion Barrier. I didn't even know this was possible!

As I got closer, I got this mysterious woman's name.

**Seishuuin Shiori  
Warder of The Heavenly Oni.  
Level: ?**

Second person whose level I can't see, eh? She is strong, that much it's obvious.

I respectfully stand to the side while mother and daughter finished their emotional meeting. In the end, the woman turned toward me.

"I heard of what'd happened from the others, but now I can see the full picture. Thank you very much for your assistance during this crisis." The woman bowed her head gracefully. "I am Seishuuin Shiori, the Jōkai Miko of this temple."

The Japanese part of my brain reacted to the bow, while I tried to keep my eyes forward and exclusively on her face. "I'm Ōe Hiroshi, Miko-sama, it's an honor."

She was the second person whose level I can't see, and just like the first one, she got a pair of mammoth-sized breasts that were very hard to not notice, and that's with a Miko uniform, which, despite the fetishes, were designed to be fairly modest.

Is this a trend? Are all huge-titted women badasses around here? I'm not complaining mind you. It's just something else to watch out for.

"What happened to the Ushi'onna?" She asked, hopefully not noticing my dipping eyes.

Ushi- Oh, cow woman.

I jutted my thumb backward; the place where the monster died still had a few black flames on it, though calling it flames was a bit of a stretch; they didn't produce any noise or heat, and the wind didn't affect them like they should. It was more like an illusion of flames really

The Seishuuin matriarch nodded, "Were you able to discern her species? Was she a Yokai, or perhaps an Akuma?" Her eyes flashed with a calculating light as she continued. "I don't want to imagine she was a demon from Makai, but by the way this night's unveiling it might very well be. So?"

… Yeah, talk about being caught unprepared. Yokai, Akuma, demons, as far as I knew, these words were synonyms, with 'Yokai' being the odd one out depending on the context. But she'd said it like they were all different things, and worse, considering the clusterfuck that would result in a mixture of the world of Taimanin and Ranma ½; that may very well be true.

As for now… I don't know her, so I don't want her realizing how much I do and don't know…

"I don't know what she was, and wasn't able to figure it out either, sorry." I answered with a half-truth; I'd managed to figure out she was a 'Cardian,' but I had no idea what that was.

The high-ranking Miko's green eyes gleamed. "Do you know the difference?"

What the… Crap, she's sharp!

Fortunately, she didn't press the subject. She just nodded and gestured to the area behind her, where my supernatural senses were picking a swirl of leftover energy from her invasion.

"I'll open another gate, please young man, take my daughter with you and leave this place."

"I can do that," I said, scratching the back of my head. Was going to do that anyway. "What about you."

"I must stay here—"

"What!? NO!" Ena cried out immediately.

"Shush child! You know… You know what my duties are."

"But you just came back! You _can't_ be leaving again!" The girl protested while weakly shaking her mother's robes.

The woman sighed, casting a look upwards to the grayed-out skies and dark moon. "It can't be helped, Ena. I can't let this Ōmagatoki fester no matter how… odd it is. If let alone, it will draw Yokais and evil spirits that could threaten the safety of the innocent. I _must _purify it!"

"But… It's not _FAIR!"_

Meanwhile, I was pondering on the Woman's last sentence. She'd said Ōmagatoki, a word that I didn't even know existed. But the way she'd said it… It was like she was speaking about my Illusion Barrier.

And… it makes sense. I already knew natural Illusion Barriers existed; I almost died inside one during my first day of school, after all. It wouldn't be strange for other people, especially if they were some kind of a supernatural group, to find out about and even call them by a different name. But I couldn't help but notice she was implying that she would have to stay here a long time to, in her words, purify it.

Did she mean erase it; hell, I can do that with… oh.

Another one of the gamer conveniences then, better to keep it close to my chest for now.

"No, mama, no, please! please!"

"Oh, child…"

Ena began to cry.

…

… Fuck.

"Miko-sama," I said, the Japanese part of my brain demanding I be respectful to the religious figure. "I can help you with that."

She spares me some of her attention, most were still on her weeping daughter.

"This is my burden to bear, getting my daughter to safety is—"

I snapped my fingers. Practiced had me doing pretty loudly. The motion carried my ID Erase skill behind it, though the act was mostly for flare and to show up to Ranma.

The entire world around us bulked and then _broke down. _

Not gonna lie, seeing this sexy Miko who quickly established herself as a badass to my eyes, gawking dumbly at me was pretty satisfying.

"Hime-sama—

"EHH! Seishuuin-sama too!?"

"Make way! make way!"

The thick crowd of priests and Mikos around us instantly lost their spectral appearance. The sudden appearance of their precious 'Hime' and their leader was met with joyful surprise and a rush of movement; most couldn't help but gather around them to express their relief.

Good, because this mass of moving bodies was just what I need to slip away unseen.

-0-0-0-

Course, one thing I hadn't taken on consideration was the fact that Seishuuin Shiori was a magical Miko whose level was high enough that I couldn't even read. So when I managed to make my way down the stairs and through the park, I found the woman sitting on a stove near the exit, waiting for me.

"That was most rude of you, young man, sneaking away like that." She said with an air of good-naturedly sternness that only a mother could do. No trace of the early shock left.

"Ah." Crap, what can I say? "Sorry? It was pretty crowded there, didn't want to get involved."

Cool greens eyes shimmered in the dark. "But you don't hesitate to get involved when others are in danger."

"Just trying to help."

"You did more than that." She got up from the stove and stepped close to me, so close I almost took a step back reflexively. "You are new." She said.

"Hum?" Was my dumb response. Do you know how hard it is to steer a teenager's brain away from lewd thoughts about the milf whose uniform is barely able to contain her bust? _Very._

"Our side of the world… You've come to your powers fairly recently, maybe you encounter something that shouldn't exist or was able to do something incredible at a time of great need, or perhaps you simply wake up different." Her lips curled a bit. "Am I right?"

I let out a breath, finally winning against my hormones and raising my guard. "If you were, where does it place us?"

She let out a little laughter. "Right here, silly. So tense!"

I watched her take a business card from her sleeves; she handled it to me with both hands.

"This is an agency dedicated to helping people like you. Call them; set up a meeting with their representative, they can get you up to speed with the world you're teetering into. No strings attached."

Yeah… years of reading fiction and general common sense made me doubt that last part…

I sighed; maybe I was being a little bit too suspicions.

"Thank you," I said, taking the card.

"And of course, you can always come back to the temple. I'll receive you myself and will be more than happy to inform you about what you need to now. You are welcome here anytime." She smiled. "In fact. I _insist."_

I nodded. "I will think about it."

"My," She placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head. "You don't need to be so guarded, you now?"

I open my mouth to respond. But then she slid close to me in a fluid movement. Her soft, curvaceous body molded to my side, the smell of lavender assaulted my senses, and a heated gush of air made contact to the skin of my neck. Before I could properly flinch, a pair of warm, cushioned lips planted a kiss on my cheek, very close to the corner of my mouth.

"Thank you for saving my daughter." She whispered.

And just like that, she was gone. And I don't mean with a blink or a blur; just… one moment she was pressed against me, and another I was alone, my heart pumping on my chest, and my cheek warm and twitching.

Fucking… Sexy… distracting milf!

I shook my head; fuck, I caught her attention, didn't I? Knew I should have kept that last stunt to myself.

Well, no use crying over it now. Getting noticed by the supernatural scene was just a matter of time. At least I've managed to make a good impression. I mean, saving most of their people and rescuing the daughter of their leader who just happens to be from a divine lineage got to count for something, right?

Before I started my long walk towards my bed, I took a peek of the business card she showed me.

…

… I'm _sure _I heard the name 'History Compilation Committee' somewhere before, but I can't for the life of me remember where.

Ah, fuck it! I'm tired, hungry, dirty, and, because of that milf Miko's stunt, horny. I should just go to bed and worry about that tomorrow.

So I slid the card and my hand on my pockets and wandered off into the night.

-0-0-0-

I woke up to the faint smell of blood and the tingling of my supernatural senses.

Truly, when it rains in Nerima, it pours. After a night of fighting cow monsters to almost death, saving innocent himes, meeting sexy mikos only to suddenly realize that this world had not one, not two, but _three_ anime settings running simultaneously when I got home. I only wanted a good night of sleep to prepare myself for whatever craziness this city would throw at me in the morning, but Nah, let's interrupt his precious sleep with another bullshit for him to deal with.

Discreetly peeling my eyes open didn't reveal much, only that the invader had entered by the balcony and left the slide glass door half-open, so the cold night air was ruffling the partially drawn curtains and letting some of the silvery moonshine in. There isn't much space in my apartment, so it must mean that the invader had sneaked over my sleeping form in the middle and made their way to my kitchenette. However, my way-more-sensitive-then-before spiritual senses disagreed with that ascertainment and told me that the invader _was right at my side_.

Nerve-wracking... if I didn't have the ability to escape via pocket dimension, or if I wasn't riding in the high of having flattened a literal monster through the floor.

I stayed lying on my side with my back towards them, keeping my breath on a steady rhythm and my body relaxed, yet ready to bolt at the slightest hint of suspicious movement, or killing intent. But what I felt instead was a gust of warm breath close to my face, and a feeble touch on my cheek.

Yeah, no, enough with this shit. I decided as I snapped my eye open.

Uehara Rin's face froze on top of mine. She didn't squeak timidly, or drew back, nor did she turn into a stuttering mess. She just stopped her movements on a level so deep that it made her seem like a statue.

… I almost forgot how absurdly_ gorgeous_ she looked up close. This was the second time I managed to catch a glimpse of her face directly, and it was by far the most memorable one; she was so close she literally overtook most of my vision.

My thoughts about intruders come to an utter halt, instead came relief and frustration.

What was she doing coming back like that? What's she doing here?

I shifted to my back slowly. Some part of my mind had remembered I was dealing with a slippery ninja who had no qualms on disappearing on me, so I moved slowly to fully face her unmoving form and tried to keep my voice even as I spoke.

"Uehara-san, what are you doing?"

A soft gust of cold wind from the side dragged some of her lightning-shaped bangs over my skin. Light gleamed in her hazel eyes, and her fingers retreated gingerly. This was not the Uehara I've grown accustomed to; this was the Uehara from when I first met her, the cool, collected one.

"This one humbly apologizes for disturbing your sleep, Ōe-sama." She spoke in a low tone. "Was for my reasons; this one was going to erase the tracking spell placed on that region."

Her warm breath draped across my skin. I could see the captivating way light danced over her lips… wait _what!?_

I jerked upward, Uehara neatly sliding out of the way as I suddenly sat on my futon, a hand going to my cheek.

"Tracking spell!? What tranking spell!?" My thoughts raced. Someone had put a spell on me!? _When!?_ I was petty sure that— Wait the Miko!? I snapped my head to the Taimanin kneeling at my side. "Are you sure? How do you kn…know?..."

Now, I'd known since the beginning that Uehara Rin was a Taimanin, and I also know that Taimanins are basically hentai ninjas, so their uniform usually… always consisted of some variation of a skintight bodysuit, presumably to allow for fast movements and help with stealth, but in actuality to give the viewers a good look of their curves. This knowledge didn't help me at all to deal with the sight of Uehara Rin in her taimanin uniform.

It wasn't a bodysuit; it was if the designer had a look at her body and declared that it's a crime to hide such thing for more than the necessary, so they gave her a freaking leotard. No, worse than a leotard, a leotard would at least _attempt_ to cover her sides, this one didn't, it was just a vertical strip of seemly latex rising up her abdomen while leaving her wide hips, narrow waist, and the sides of her trim belly completely naked. And when it got to her chest, where the leotard actually tried to do the job it had neglected until now, someone had designed an honest to god boob window, one that leaves her enormous bust more bare than covered.

It was, frankly, a genius outfit for eroticism, given that I can personally attest that it made her look better than she would naked, a challenging task. But it was a complete disaster for a ninja that's supposed to fulfill dangerous missions in rape demon-infested territories. I mean, that's just tempting fate!

The teenager part of my brain promptly forced all available mental power to focus on this wondrous visage, derailing everything else.

"Ōe-sama, this one had been trained in the basics of the arcane arts, a spell of this level is within this one's capabilities to erase." She explained dutifully.

By that point, the adult part of my brain was winning against the more hormonal one— I was getting better at this— when I noticed something else on her…

Her outfit, as tiny as it was, was ragged.

The metal protection on her arms and legs held deep metal scars and dry blood over them, the latex of her outfit was torn and worn out to the point that some parts were barely holding on, and all over the many naked parts of her body were cuts and purple bruises. They were shallow, many not deep enough to draw blood, but there were so many it added on to make a grim picture.

The faint smell of blood...

"What happened to you, Rin?"

There was a short, quiet hiccup in her breath, but few changed in her neutral expression.

She only spoke after a few seconds. "…Ōe-sama… This one was repenting for her gross mistake that had threatened your health. No enemy shall bother you again."

My shoulders sagged a bit. I'm relieved to know she wasn't captured. But about what she'd said.

"Uehara-"

"Rin."

I clicked my mouth close in surprise, yet she just stared ahead that like she wasn't just interrupted me. It was the very first breach of politeness she'd made in my presence.

"Rin… You…"

What was to say? You didn't need to do that? They were rape demons, of course she had. Even though I don't know what she'd faced that required her to disappear for five days and come back bruised and bloodied…

Then, a line of inquiry came to me. "You're a ninja."

It might sound dumb, but it was important, we actually didn't reveal anything substantial about each other when we last talked, so for her to be here now in full taimanin gear was quite odd, and definitely threaten the secrets she tried to hide.

She didn't answer, but I'd expected that.

… I decided to continue to 'deduce' things.

"Your clothes and your weapons." I dropped my eyes to the weapons she had on her belt-like straps. There were two sword guards without blades that I'm sure worked for her, some kunais, unknown pouches, and the shurikens were unmistakable. She didn't react to my gaze or tried to hide them from it. "Are similar from the ninjas of old."

I shifted myself to better stare into her unmoving eyes.

"That thing we met, I couldn't see much of it, but I had time to look up a few things. It looked like an Orc, like some video games. You had a mission to hunt them down, maybe given by a contractor or someone you swore loyalty to." I licked my lips. "But you failed, or one escaped your notice, leading to the ambush of a few days ago, which clearly failed. And now you finally finished the job."

The room became darker, likely a cloud passing over the moon. The Taimanin's eyes gleamed like two tiny points in the darkness while a shroud of shadows covered her form. It was a… surprisingly scary sight.

Yet I didn't feel threatened, maybe it was my new sensitivity to killing intent or she was just_ that_ good. But at no point, I felt she wouldn't hurt me.

"Ōe-sama..." She began slowly as if waiting for the light to go back over her form again. "Ōe-sama has a very creative imagination and very vivid dreams. This one is impressed."

Translation, you hit bull's eye at everything, but I can't tell you that.

"I see, I supposed I would be meeting you in the morning then." I let out a breath and continued on to the vital question. "Uehar…Rin, why are you here now?"

She didn't answer, but it wasn't the calm silence from before. This time it felt slightly different… like she had clamped down. The soft twitch in her expression was proof enough.

That's the thing; Uehara was a taimanin, and she clearly wasn't allowed to tell me about it. Yet we are here now, talking. She's a badass ninja whose level I can't even see; I have little doubt she was capable of stalking around my apartment unnoticed, or failing that, putting me to sleep or knocking me unconscious before I had a proper look at who it was.

This conversation we're having doesn't make sense unless she _wanted_ me to see her… or there is something else.

And my spiritual senses were pointing in that direction because now I'm sensitive enough to see the difference: it wasn't Rin that had trigged my senses; it was something _clinging_ to her.

"You were hit by a spell." I guessed, and her shoulders hitched. Lucky guess? "I can feel it a bit, now."

"Ōe-sama's progress is outstanding." She commented, falling back to her calm facade.

I sweep the blanket away from my waist after I judged things to be sufficiently under control there, and shift my body to face the Taimanin directly.

"Don't…" She mumbles in an almost inaudible tone.

"Hum?" I look up at her, now facing her completely. Then, I frowned.

"Tell me what's happening…Rin." I said, now firmly.

Her throat moved as she made to swallow, even though her face remained the same. Only now, I noticed that her skin was gleaming more than usual; she was slightly sweaty.

"Thr… Three…" She began, but her voice faltered for the first time. She restarted. "This one has been hit by three different stimulation spells and has been injected with a substance that her body was not able to fully purge yet."

…

O-Ok… and considering she is a taimanin, and she regularly deals with...

I leaned forward for a bit, "Are you ok?"

"Ōe-sama!"

I flinched back, startled by the sudden outburst.

She still held the same position, but now she was notably _breaking down_ while on it. Her fingers were curling into a fist over her thighs, her shoulders were trembling, and her hair was now shadowing her eyes. There was a noticeable smell of ozone in the air.

"Please, please don't move, don't get close. This one…" She raises her face a little, where were tears in her eyes, and her nose was now spotting a pretty large flush. "This one is barely holding herself!"

**New Quest: A Taimanin's Good End.  
**_**Uehara Rin has just come back from her roaring rampage of revenge and now needs a helping hand in a common Taimanin problem; luckily, you just so happen to have the right tool for the job! So get to it!  
Reward:**_

_**\+ 100 exp.**_

_**Vastly increase closeness with Uehara Rin.**_

_**Uehara Rin's personal kunoichi vow.**_

_**Failure:**_

_**Decrease closeness with Uehara Rin.**_

_**Dumb Shounen Protagonist Title.**_

_**Accept/Refuse.**_

I didn't even read the description of the quest, just accepted it as a means to _get it out of my face because I had more important shit to worry about!_

Now, there are a few ways one could react to what she told me, to what she implied. A typical teenager would probably become a nervous wreck and either jump at the opportunity or become too afraid to take the next step. Luckily, I wasn't a simple teenager, so I managed to keep my head together, even if my smaller one had bulged out considerably by the implications alone.

My thoughts raced, she'd said she's being affected by several factors that were increasing her lust, yet she was here right now, despite having many other means to take care of it, and her word let little doubt as to why.

I… relaxed, a layer of tension I didn't even realize I had melting away from my shoulders. My lips curled as I decided to thrust the game messages about our closeness and set off to the next course of action.

"Barely holding herself… from what?" I said in a low tone.

Rin didn't notice any change. She just continued trembling. Her head shook softly, throwing her lighting bangs from side to side.

"This one can't help herself… This one can't steer her thoughts away from…" Her teeth rasped against her lips. Her breathing got heavier. I, myself, felt a jolt of excitement; just seeming this perfect Yamato Nadeshiko slowly come apart was oddly alluring.

Her following statement came after two brief stutters. It was more like she was yanking out from herself or like she couldn't keep holding in anymore.

"This one is holding herself from taking advantage of you."

'Take advantage' how prude. Even in this state, she can't help but be polite and adorable.

"Ah!" The Taimanin's shoulders jerked slightly, the sound that came from her mouth was more of a squeak than a gasp, and it contrasted wonderfully to the serene image she'd tried to convey. She blinked down to see what caused the reaction and saw my finger tapping the middle of her latex-clad tight. It was nothing suggestive, just a simple touch to bring attention to how close we now are. Her eyes got wide; it seems she didn't even notice my approach.

"That's impossible, Rin," I said to her flushed expression. "You can't take advantage of me I'm the one initiating…"

And so I casually crossed the last distance between us and laid my lips upon hers.

It was a caste thing, just pressing our lips together. But there is something about the softness, the warm, the musky smell… that made it very intimate. Rin certainly felt it too by the way she shivered under my touch.

"Ōe-sama?" She mumbled when I gave her an inch of separation, I gladly took advantage of that to press on again, this time deeper, teasing those plump, glossy lips with the tip of my tongue. "Ōe-sama." She mumbled against my lips. "Ōe-sama, Ōe-sama, Ōe-sama!"

And that was the moment the dam broke.

Uehara Rin _lunges_ into my embrace, the sudden shift of weight throwing me to my ass. Her hot, voluptuous body pressed over mine. Our kiss went from slow and calm to deep and _hungry. I_ tried to match her intensity as she plunges her tongue into my mouth.

Her arms circled around my back, her fingers clawed the fabric of my tank top, and her body shook and jerked by the rhythm of our messy kiss. Her enormous breasts squeezed tightly against my now much harder muscles as she kept dragging herself up and down to maximize contact.

My back hit the floor when our cores pushed together, her thighs closing around my very visible bulge while a burning mold pressed itself over it. She practically purred at my throat as the sensation traversed her entire body.

Might have underestimated how pent up she was.

"Ōe-sama." She whined as she finally pulls away, a trail of droll connecting or lips. "Sorry, Ōe-sama." She kept her hazy eyes locked on mine while her hand slid between our bodies, going down the definitions of my torso. "This one can't _wait _any longer!"

Her hand slid beneath the elastic band of my pajama pants and fished my dick out; its head immediately sprang to the air higher than she expected, hitting her molten core above. The contact made us both moan and stiffened her body so much that her upper torso fell over me, squashing my chest under the softness of her breasts.

"Ah!... I-Impressive." She fumbled with my member, trying to direct it to her entrance, but only managed to pump my shaft while clumsy massaging the head of my dick against her still latex-covered mold. It felt amazing to me, but to her extra-sensitive self was on another level. Her wide hips visibly bucked with each touch, forcing more and more desperate contact but no penetration. Each jolt of pleasure made her clumsier, so it was becoming difficult for her to get it done.

"Needs help?" I half breathed half chuckled into her ears. Making her let out a needy groan into my neck.

_"Please!" _

I passed my hands over her sides, making sure to yank as many frustrated groans as possible on my way down. Soon, I joined hers over stabilize my dick, while sliding the other on over her soft, oh so very soft folds between her legs, causing a shriek to break out from her throat and her hips to raise high. At that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to finger and play around with that wet plumpness. But I understand what my woman needed, and so I just pushed the drenched latex to the side, exposing her drooling quim to the night air.

"Oh! This is it!" Her upper body jerked up suddenly as my swollen head finally met her naked entrance; it was so moistened that it immediately slid a few centimeters in. "This is it! This is it! Yes! Yes!" She pushed herself up while her slender back arced to place her hips into position, and then she pressed herself _down._

"Ohhhhhhhh!"

I barely registered her throaty moan, too busy dealing with my own sensations. Her tight, little tunnel stretched and spread around my length, squeezing me so hard it was like she was trying to make me part of her. Our hips met in a wet slap a second later. The act had produced jolts of numbing pleasure that practically forced my hips to buck.

Like, literal,_ real_, jolts!

_"Ōe-sama!" _Rin threw her head backward until I couldn't see her face, her hands dropping over my legs as she leaned back, her mountainous breasts arching over the horizon.

The constant movements of her quivering walls alone were mindboggling enough, but then she began to sway her hips from side to side while trying to keep as much as myself within her as possible. Making my length shift and _grind _her insides over and over.

I was twitching; I only realized after I tried to reach those bouncing tits with a hand but found myself unable to move my arm properly. Before I could think, however, Rin shifted again, throwing her weight forward this time while her hands fell over my pectoral to steady herself.

"Ōe-sama! Ōe-sama! You're _impaling _this one so deeply!" Her eyes were lost in a mist of lust; there was a trail of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth while she smiled a happy, drunken smile. It was like seeing a mixture of the two Ueraha Rin I've met coming together as one.

I felt her raise her hips, exposing some of my drenched length to the coldness of the night. Then she slapped her hips down again.

Her joyful squeal happened in the background of my mind. Most were lost in the buzzing pleasure that seems to shook across my whole form.

"W-What the-" I mumbled, before groaning at the massage this tight little pussy gave me while it rose. Then it came down again and made the whole world go white.

**New Skill Created: Elemental Resistance: Electricity lvl 01.  
**_**Increases your natural resistance against electricity, decrease the harmful effects of electrical currents, take less damage from electrical attacks.**_

I pull up a breath, feeling the world come back to its senses. My lower side was numb, save to the waves of pleasure that those crashing hips were causing. The rest was aching, twitching, and tingling with a combination of pain and pleasure. The smell of female arousal and ozone was thick in the air.

Rin was chanting my name as she brought her hips up and down, again and again, her head and long hair bobbing with the movement with eyes full and unseeing. Her whole body was sweating madly now, dropped flew out as those gigantic breasts bounced up and down, now free from their early confinement. And they were also… sparkling.

Shit, the drug! It made her lose control.

**Elemental Resistance: Electricity leveled up!**

Some distinctive sensations shoot back from my groins, and I _groaned_ as I felt the constantly quivering tightness going up and down my dick while leaving behind jolts of energy that exploded in sensations that couldn't be described. I don't even know how I didn't cum yet.

Or I did and didn't remember.

I grunted, closing my hands to test out the control I had over my limbs, finding it good enough. I wrapped my finger around one of Rin's arm and pulled her down. She went with a happy mewl.

After a few trying bucks of my hips with nearly blank out my mind again, I finally manage to roll us over, placing the out of control Taimanin beneath me.

I pushed my face against the vast softness of her breast, catching one of the large pink nipples into my mouth while sinking my fingers on the leftover breast and firmly gripping the malleable flesh. Rin cried and jolted under me, sending my nerves on fire.

**Elemental Resistance: Electricity leveled up!**

With more feeling back and the ability to now withstand the currents that were locking my muscles before. I drew my length back and forcefully pushed back in, starting to piston in and out of the ninja girl in an attempt to quell her fire… well… lighting.

Rin _howled_ as our hips slammed together, producing arcs of electricity that bounced across the room. I felt my eyes tear up from the explosion of sensation, but pushed past it and continued to _hammer down_ her increasing sparkling core.

**Elemental Resistance: Electricity leveled up!**

"Oh! Oh! OH! Oh! Oh!" The capability to form coherent words had long since escaped her, leaving her vocabulary limited by loving repletion of my name and basic sounds of ecstasy.

But I could feel the muscles of her abdomen tightening, her inner tunnel trembling around my constant invasion, and the volume of her voice increasing. She was getting closer.

Electricity was arcing freely now, illuminating the room with flashes of indigo light. Her spread legs shook under my movements, having long size opened to give me complete access to her sex. Loud, meaty slaps echoed as our hips met each other with ever-growing ferocity, the sizable ass beneath all acting almost as a cushion to prompt her pussy up against my ramming hips. It was easy to fuck Ueraha Rin; the act felt natural and_ right_, the more I did, the more I wanted to keep going. Like this woman has made to be fucked.

"OH! OhHHh! Ōe-sama! ŌE-sama! This ONE isss GUUU!"

Her walls _clamped_ down over my pulsing length, locking myself in her deepest parts. The current that was becoming easy to ignore came back in full force. It would have made me arc my back if two slender arms hadn't circled around my head and kept it on the valley of her breast like it belonged there.

I felt her bucking and writhing underneath me; her legs strong were enough to push both of us off the ground as they curled. After a single, infinite moment of tension, a _pulse _was projected outward and she unraveled around me, loudly squirting her liquid arousal around my crouch until it dripped from my balls and ran down my legs. All while her pussy greedily drank from my own essence that was being spurted deep inside in long, thick cords of white.

_"GRAHHH!"_ Was the final note from her previously noiseless scream. Her body fell limp to the floor. Mine held on for a second before following behind though I ended up with a much better pillow.

For a while, we just stayed there, catching breathes. Hearing the last shards of glass falling from the lamp that had exploded and hearing the distant melody of car alarms before they fizzled out.

**Quest Completed!**

**+100 exp**

**Your closeness with Uehara Rin has vastly increased.**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**Graduating from your V-card… Again… Kinda…**_

**+10 exp**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**Banging a babe way above your level.**_

**+20 exp**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**Surviving superpowered sex**_**.**

**+30 exp**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**Highly Destructive climax.**_

**+40 exp**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**As close as a man can get to fucking a car battery.**_

**+50 exp**

**New Skill Created: Sex Mastery lvl 01  
**_**Gives intuitive grasps on the art of having sex, increases pleasure given and received.**_

**Level up!**

"Ah, ahh, ahh." Each one of Rin's pos orgasm breaths was like amorous sighs. She didn't resist as I turned our bodies so we were lying on our side, her mouth kept moving in an unheard mantra, and her hazy but serene eyes fluttering as she followed my every move.

It was only when my softening penis pop out from her abused pussy that she closed her eyes and relaxed into sleep.

I sighed, trying to ignore the smoke that trailed up from my mouth. My body was aching, my hair was spiked upwards like a bad anime character, and my dick was feeling way-too-numb for my liking, but then again my Hp bar was nearly in the red, so I'd figured most of these problems would take care of themselves with a few minutes of rest.

A tired gaze to the side let me judge that the blanket was too close from the broken glass for me to risk it, and I could see some faint sunlight peeking from the bottom of the curtains. The Japanese part of my brain told me to get some hour rest before school, but most of it told that part to fuck itself because there would be no school for me today.

Yeah, let the world fuck itself for a while, I'll deal with the rest later.

With these encouraging thoughts in mind, I sunk back to my sweaty Taimanin bodypillow and fell asleep soon after.

* * *

A/note: if you're wondering where the hell is Uehara personal kunoichi vow in the rewards for the completion of the quest, it's not there because because is more as an external rewards than part of the game system, she'll have to formalize first.

Chapter 6 Preview: Background characters! Fiancees! Bitter rivals! Funny tasting breads! Secret Meeting! Alien Stuff! OH MY!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 06

* * *

This isn't the first time I've been cornered in the man's bathroom. Hell, this time the odds are actually in my favor; there was only one, and it doesn't look like he was armed.

The guy in question was an average looking dude with an athletic build and earthly brown hair that spiked wildly in every direction. He'd got inside the room and wordlessly blocked the door with his body, making his intentions obvious right from the start.

At least he was waiting for me to finish washing my hands, which I did with deliberated slowness.

If it was only that, it would be fine. I am completely confident that I can kick the ass of anyone in this school whose name didn't start with Saotome and ends with Ranma, but the words floating above his head gave me pause.

**Himiko Kenji  
Vegan Werewolf  
Level: 09**

I sighed.

I had… not forgotten, but pushed the more… overtly supernatural aspects of the classmates to the back of my mind, mostly because I didn't know how to approach them or how to begin talking about the subject. But it seems my recent encounter with the supernatural was attracting even more of it into my life.

I suppose this was inevitable, and, not gonna lie, a bit fun.

"So," I said, shaking the last droplets of water to the side. "What do you want?"

He was sloughing down, shoulders squared, arms limp, head hanging low but with eyes locked on me, I decided this posture was an aggressive one, but, frankly, with my growing experience, I can say there are better postures to be in if you want to start a fight. But then again, the gamer told me he wasn't human, and it hadn't led me astray yet.

"Stop doing that thing." He said after a moment of glaring.

I raised my eyebrow, "Sorry?"

"That thing! That thing you and the martial artist are doing. Where you disappear and reappear later, stop that!" He insisted.

There was something under his tone that made the words tremble, almost like a growl.

I kept my expression under control. Ok, this is my fault, really; I've been very blatant on the usage of my abilities around this school, hoping for the blanket of Nerima weirdness to cover for them. The encounter with the freaking _Campione!_ Organization made me realize I could use a little more discretion, at least until I figured out what the fuck is happening to this world, but it seems it was too late for that now.

No use crying over spilled milk, the damage is already done.

"Why?" I asked simply.

The guy showed me his teeth but settled back down. "The smell, you're messing out the smell around the school!"

Crap, so my Illusion Barriers did leave an effect on reality… That actually makes sense, considering that they are not a foreign concept to this world.

I slid my hands on my pockets and leaned my hips on the sink but kept my guard raised despite the casual pose.

"Noted. But how is it different, may I ask? Am I making the place smell bad?"

How am I affecting reality? Basically

"No, good. You're making everything smell good. _Way too good!"_ He produced a dog-like snort with his nose and shook his head "This is bad, will attract bad things. Monsters. Monsters will bring trouble. I'm supposed to stay out of trouble."

…

O…kay. I tilted my head, casting a gaze over this guy. Trying to watch for the small details and remember what I've seen of him in class.

No wonder he always kept to himself.

"You can't human very well, hãh? Werewolf-san." I quipped, because frankly, if he's going to drop one of my secrets on me, then I'm gonna do it to him too.

It was a risky move that led to risky results; He flinched for a second, his eyes wide in surprise. Then immediately lean back in, his claw and canine growing as he _snarled._

At least he didn't attack me outright. But I can see he was preparing to.

I put my hands up quickly. "Hold up!"

My exclamation must have taken him by surprise because he actually paused.

"Just to be clear, I have _no_ interest in fighting you. But I'll defend myself if you try to start anything."

"Hãhh?" I think if he had dog-ears, they would be flapping around right now as he seemly tried to fix the gears inside his head. Even his aggressive posture dismantled a little, though his lower canine now poked from his mouth even when closed.

"… You're trying to confuse me." He decided.

Not _un_true. "I'm serious."

"No. You're going to attack me when my guard is down."

"Why would I do that?"

"Why— Because that's why what humans do!" He furred his blow deeply. "We hide, if we're discovered, humans attack, always."

We? Interesting, is he talking about his kin as a whole, or somebody else?

"Honestly, I'm new to this; I still don't know how to react to a werewolf, yet." I admitted while making a 'what can you do?' sign with my raised hands. "Sorry if people attacked you before, but I can promise I won't without a reason."

I could almost hear the tick-tock going on in his head. He was also clicking his sharp teeth together, but it didn't look like a threatening act, it looked more like a nervous tick.

"I'm not supposed to get in trouble." He repeated his previous statement.

My shoulders rolled in a casual shrug. "You're not. The way I see it, we're just talking."

He looked at me suspiciously for a couple of seconds before making an internal decision and turning to leave.

That actually made me blink, is he just going to—

He snapped back, and I flinched, but instead of an attack, a clawed finger was pointed at me.

"Anyway, stop doing that thing!" He reverted back to the start of the argument.

I nodded slowly. "Alright, already thinking of moving to another place anyway."

"Oh… Ok." He looked around uncertain and then left and closed the door behind him.

Well, that went… better than I'd imagine it would go. Hell, I'm even leaning on liking the guy. He was honest and direct, at least, unlike some sneaky milfs…

I grumped at the directions my thoughts had taken, partially angry with myself for getting distracted like that on that night. Sure, my body is a virile pile of hormones now, but I'm an adult goddamn it! I should know not to lower my guard around to sexy women.

Dropping these thoughts, because it's unlikely they would help me now, I left the bathroom and made my way back to my class, where Ranma had started wolfing down his lunch.

The students around me parted and avoided me more blatantly than usual.

"Yo, Gel-man." Ranma greeted as I got close.

"Your jokes are bad, and you should feel bad for telling them."

What he was referring to was, of course, the copious amount of gel that now adorns my hair. You see, after the thunderous fucking from a day ago, my dark locks had stubbornly _refused_ to settle down, so I had two choices, either I went to school looking like a Final Fantasy reject, or took matters into my own hands. That's why now my hair was swept back into a glossy, pitch-black mass that made me look like the king of rock 'n roll during his heydays. I actually thought it looked pretty slick, but Ranma said it made me look like one of his middle schools' delinquents and processed to make bad jokes about it whenever he could.

Guess it explained why everybody was giving me a wider berth than usual.

Reaching my seat, I cocked my hips to the side and put a casual hand over it, casting a questioning eyebrow at the one sitting on it.

**Tendo Akane.  
Heiress to the Tendo's branch of Anything Goes Martial arts school.  
Level: 18 **

Let this be said about Tendo Akane; she was pretty. Definitely one of the top tiers in our class and probably high up there among our age group. Sure, she wasn't drop-dead gorgeous as Ueraha Rin or even curvy as Ranma-chan, but she had a pretty decent body with everything in the right place, a face that's very easy on the eyes, and long blueish locks that were something to be proud of.

I can see why most of the boys in this school are head over heels for her, though the grimace she was wearing right now was ruining this impression.

"Yo, joining us today, I see." I greeted her good-naturedly.

"As if!" She crossed her arms with a buff. "You and Ranma are up to something suspicious!" She accused.

Now that's interesting.

This is actually my first real interaction with Tendo Akane. Still, it isn't the first time she reacted to my presence— we were in the same class after all, and I hang out with her fiancée: I caught her looks— yet in none of the last instances she was as antagonist as she is now.

Ranma stomped his foot on the floor. "I told you it was nothin' like that! Quit being so insistent, you tomboy!"

"What did you call me, pervert!?"

Ah, I see; they're fighting. And it probably didn't start at the school either.

"Well, Tendo-san, I can assure you we're not up to anything suspicious." I cut in between the two, and then I turned on the 'fuck it' switch because I got a feeling she would be finding out anyway. "We are merely hunting yokais for cash in a pocket dimension."

Akane blinked at the sudden statement, while Ranma choked the rice he was eating.

"Oh, come on!" Exclaimed the gender-bender martial artist after the rice failed to suffocate him. "Don't just _tell _her!"

Was he trying to keep this as a bro secret? That's kinda touching.

"Speaking of which, we can't do it at the school anymore." I broke the news.

_"What!?"_ Ranma actually looked alarmed at that. _"_Why?"

"I've been informed that it will attract real monsters if we keep up."

"Oh." He looked down and the bento, it had probably been made by Kasumi. "That really sucks."

I shrugged. "Hey, it's not like we have to stop it, we just have to find a better place to do it, and maybe rotate between areas a little bit. Besides, the skill supposedly gives new monsters according to the terrain; I want to test that out." A relevant thought jumped to my mind, and I vocalized it. "By the way, did you know Himiko Kenji knows about what we're doing?"

Ranma, who was looking happier now that his main source of cash wasn't going to end, considered that. "Yeah, there was always this guy stalkin' around when we did our thing, so his name is Kenji, huh."

I frowned. What the… "Wait, wait, wait, you knew a guy was peeking on us this entire time, and you didn't tell me!"

Ranma shrugged, pushing a sausage into his mouth. "He was bein' really discrete about it, 'sides it's not like he was brotherin' us or anything." He said with his mouth around the meat.

Oh, this guy…

"Oh, so did you know he was a werewolf, also?"

Ranma promptly gaged at the news, quickly looking up at me. "What!? Like a werewolf, werewolf!?"

"Yeah, Ranma, werewolf, werewolf." I leaned in with a grin—my long, thick, imposing shadow crossing over his shocked face due to the light in my back. "See? That's what you do when you have information that could be relevant to both of us. You _share_ it."

Ranma rolled his eyes unabashedly. "Oh, shut up."

_"Excuse me!?"_

We both looked to the side to see the figure of Tendo Akane, who had been turning her to both of us as she followed the conversation, looking more incredulous each time… Or maybe a bit horrified by the pit of filthy innuendos I was dragging a clueless Ranma into.

"What _the heck_ are you two talking about!?" She demanded, and I had to hold my witches cackles back for the expression in her face.

"Sorry about that," I said with an underlined chuckle. Reaching a hand out to the side, I grabbed a chair that a classmate had conveniently left vacated. Then I pushed it to our table, sat down, and conjured a loaf of bread from my inventory. "I'm Ōe Hiroshi, would you like some bread?"

-0-0-0-

Now, it had been a long time since I watched Ranma ½, but I can somewhat remember the feeling I had about the characters.

Akane was among my least favorites.

I can even say I've developed a healthy dislike for her character as time goes by, but at that point, I didn't know if it was my old fanfiction knowledge blending in with the half-remembered scenes from the anime. I didn't know if her worst aspects were exaggerations, or if she was as bratty and prone to violence as the fan's usual portrayal of her.

In the end, I've decided to hold my judgment until I had an actual conversation with her.

And now, after spending about a day in her proximity and interacting with her, I safely said she's… Not as bad as the fanfictions might have you believe, but not as good that the dislike for her is entirely unfounded.

In the end, I had to act like a mediator for her and Ranma on more than one occasion. And not to stroke my own ego or anything, but the results speak for themselves.

"Ahh, that's neat, so it's like the 'grounded tiger strike' but in the air!" Akane concluded brightly.

"Urg, hearing it being refereed like that is so weird. It was always the 'dive of the unbound eagle' for me." Ranma commented, still thinking over this conversation's surprise revelations. "But yeah, I guess it's the same move if you think about it. Damn pops! Saotome's exclusive, my ass!"

It turns out both martial artists are interested in martial arts, who would have thought?

This particular conversation spurred from an innocent 'So what's the difference between the Tendo and the Saotome branches of the Anything Goes' question by me, partially in an attempt to deflate one of the more tense moments between the two. This resulted in wide eyes and gaping mouths as they slowly realized that none of them had a good answer because none bother to ask themselves, which prompted a very hesitant stream of questions and answers that bloomed into a quite lively discussion. If someone saw them now, they'd be hard-pressed to guess they were at each other's throat this morning.

There isn't to say there weren't any duds, however, and most of the problem came from the difference in personality between the two.

You see… Ranma is rude, and sometimes he can be _very_ rude. Maybe this is a product of growing up alone with an asshole father, but his first instinct is to mock and ridicule anything he deems as a failure or a mistake, and he does so seemly without noticing it. Like, if you slip on the wet ground and fall on your face, it's most likely he will insult your lack of equilibrium first, and only then crouched down to help you up, but the thing is; he will most likely crouch down to help you up.

While Ranma is very likely to berate your every mistake, he will not see it as an insult, or at least as a serious one. It's honestly just a natural response to him, and that meant he doesn't put much meaning behind it as others do, it's actually pretty hard for him to openly insult someone with the intention of hurting their feelings.

It's not an easy outlook to 'get', and I did so because most of my male friends and my brother acted the same way: within a space where rudeness was just another expression, you quickly learn which insults actually hold meaning. The only problem I can say about it, which admittedly is a pretty big one, is that Ranma has no social filter for it, he will treat everybody the same and doesn't understand that most people are not used to it.

And Akane… well, she is the worst type of person to talk to if you have that mentality and manner of speaking.

One thing that the fandom got right is that the girl had a temper the size of a particular angry midget. I could literally see her go red with every slight quip and insult Ranma casually threw like she took his every word personally. It's actually rather impressive the way she can flip flop back to normal when I step in to cool things down. She also has a nasty tendency to take things out of context and built up her anger from that, even when the thing clearly isn't an insult or mockery. To the point that even I had to watch what I said around her.

At least I can say she isn't prone to outright violence as the fandom indicated, but more than once I had the feeling she would punch us and walk away fuming, but she never did.

If you don't use mockery and keep the intent of your words clear enough, she's usually pretty mellow and friendly.

When you combine these two personalities, you get a powder keg in the shape of a conversation, and this one, while by far the best one I managed to get the two to engage in, was not without its misunderstandings. Mostly because whatever Anything Goes levels they were talking, Ranma was clearly more advance and had better practical and theoretical foundations, plus he has a tendency to insult the Tendo's moves he isn't familiar with and have no counterpart part on the Saotome side. Something that rattled Akane to no end.

"That sounds dumb. I bet I can break that off in no time."

"Oh yeah, care to try!"

See? Ranma sounded challenging, but Akane, she just sounded angry. I signed. Here we go again.

"So, any combination attacks you two can use?" I cut in before Ranma could reply and escalate.

The gender-bender martial artist looked and me, and scrunch his face in thought.

"I dunno… maybe the Dual Jet Streams Raging Water attack? It requires two people to use."

"Ah, you have that too!" Akane exclaimed excitedly, the traces of irritation quickly melting away from her expression. Her finger cupped her chin in thought soon after, though. "Do that move even work? It doesn't sound very reliable."

"It not very useful against people, but it's awesome against projectiles. My pops and I got into a fight with this dumpling stand alliance back in China and…"

Safe! Was what I thought while half-listening to Ranma's amusing tale, Akane seemed engrossed into hearing a report about how one of the martial techniques she knew fare in combat.

**\+ 1 Cha. **

Hum? Well, at least I'm getting something for my troubles.

Despite occasionally needing my intervention, this conversation was actually very informative and, dare I say it, fun.

It had become pretty clear to us that the Tendo branch of Anything Goes deals with ground-based techniques with a focus on strength and resilience, and the Saotome was the opposite of that with a focus on aerial techniques favoring speed and mobility. It's kinda funny that Akane is the heir of the 'hard' version of the style, but Ranma eclipses her in this aspect by his sheer physical stats alone.

We were walking to the school gate when it happened.

I felt a slight chill running down my spine. It was very sudden and very hard to ignore, so it stunned me for a single moment. It was enough for me to feel Ramna's finger gripping the back of my jacket.

"RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!"

I was_ pulled_ back and off my feet. But unlike the last time, the sudden shift didn't mess with my perception, and I was able to see a yellowish and red blur dropping over our previous position like a meteor, at the same time that I managed to put my legs under me to land and slid on the ground crouching rather than on my ass, the yelp at my far side told me that Akane wasn't so lucky.

To my surprise, the ground beneath the figure didn't become a crater; it didn't even crack under the heavy impact… To my even bigger surprise, I was proven wrong a solid three seconds later, when the ground _opened_ up in a wide hole that somehow took a few seconds to form. The few students around who were leaving let out startled cries as they watched.

The figure on the crater was tall and muscular, with baggy, worn-out yellow garbs with a tiger theme bandana and a red umbrella— Oh, it's Ryoga.

**Hibiki Ryoga.  
The Eternal Lost Boy  
Level: 24**

I was wondering when he was going to show up.

Ryoga pulled up his umbrella from the ground and rose to his feet, keeping his gaze solemnly on his target.

"I see you still good at running away, Ranma." He gave out a cocky chuckle.

The martial artist frowned, opening his mouth to let out a retort, only for his head to be cocked forwards by a thud.

"What the hell!?" Ranma shouted at a pissed off girl at his side, who was trying to hold the tear on the backside of her skirt shut.

"Look at what you've done, pervert!"

"I was tryin' to get you out of this guy's attack!"

"I could have done on my own, thank you very much!"

Really guys? Is this really the best time? And look, now Ryoga is trembling in anger. Poor dude.

"Stop ignoring me, Ranma!" He shouted, interrupting the growing argument. The tip of his umbrella pointed at Ranma. "I've come a long way to right the wrongs you did to me!"

That brought Ranma's attention. He snapped his sharp eyes to Ryoga and… looked.

And looked.

And continued looking.

"…Y-You don't remember?" Ryoga sputtered.

Ranma squinted his eyes, concentrating very deeply.

"Maybe someone from your Junior High?" I threw a bone.

"AH!" It was all he needed, apparently. He snapped his fingers at me, and then at Ryoga. "Now, I remember! Err. Shinahara Kenishi!"

_"Who's that!?" _The lost boy roars in frustration. "Hibiki Ryoga! It's _Hibiki Ryoga!"_

"Yeah that's it. Sorry, sorry, got it confused." Ranma rubbed the back of his head and actually smiled, apparently forgetting this guy just tried to kill him. "Ah man, long time no see—"

"Silence!" Ranma got an umbrella pointed at his face as he tried to approach. "Answer my question! Why didn't you come to fight me at the appointed time!?"

Ranma blinked. "…I waited for you at the agreed place for three whole days." He said slowly.

"Three days!" Was Akane's exclamation and pretty much the reaction of the growing crowd. I just remained in my squatting position and enjoyed the nostalgia.

"But when I arrived on the fourth day… You were already gone!"

"Fourth day!?"

Where is Kuno, by the way? I thought he always appears when logic starts to fail.

Ranma took a deep, calming breath, and spoke. "Ryoga, let me ask you a question."

Taking the lost boy's silence as acceptance, he continued.

"That place where we're supposed to fight back then…. Wasn't that vacant lot behind your house?"

"Why did you force me to wait for three days then!?" Ranma countered with a healthy deal of logic and reason. Don't think it's very effective against this wild Ryoga, though.

"Bastard! Do you think I was out for a stroll those four days!?"

With a heavy heart and pain in his eyes, Ryoga started telling us his sad tale about getting out of his house and getting lost across Japan from a journey that should have taken a few minutes.

In the end, he masterfully succeeded in informing everyone about his sense of direction if the murmuring was any indication.

"Ok, but how did you get all the way up to Hokkaido in one day, though?" I asked.

"You broke a man-to-man promise!" Ah… Ignored. "And then you _dare_ to run off to China with your father!"

He finally had enough and step in for a swing. Ranma leaped above it and glided backward like he was on the moon before landing gracefully on his feet.

"So you come here to finish that fight?" He asked with growing eagerness.

"Finish it!? You don't know half of it!" He swung his umbrella to the side and popped it open. "REVENGE!" Then he launched his god-knows-how-many-pounds umbrella like a Frisbee of death, something that Ranma casually dodged out of instinct.

Leaving the thing to spin directly at the growing crowd of students behind him

_"OI!"_ I leaped backward and got my hands on the spinning handle of the thing as it passed over my head. In retrospect, this wasn't a very well-thought-out idea.

My _entire body_ was dragged by it to the point my feet momentarily left the ground. Luckily my grip and my weight were enough to knock its trajectory out of the way of the bystanders and directed it toward the ground. Were it _dug_ its blade-like hem into concrete for a good fifteen centimeters.

I let out a grunt as I felt the spinning handle_ grinding _against the palm of my hand, but just tightened my grip and bared the pain until it finally stopped.

Ignoring the burning sensation, I put my other hand on the handle and _lifted _the thing of the ground… Trying with all my might to not show how much the weight was affecting me.

Seriously is this thing an umbrella or a freaking ship anchor!?

I placed it on my shoulder, where it dug uncomfortably on my skin. But with the support of my entire torso, I managed to keep it up much easier. With the umbrella secured, and after I made sure I wasn't going to drop on my ass due to its impossible weight. I turned to Ranma, moving with easy steps to not throw my precarious balance off.

"You. Be more aware of your surroundings!" I chastised the idiot until he was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"And _you."_ I made a point to aim his own weapon in his direction… with one arm… my every muscle _screamed _at me for that, but I had my _pride _damn it. "Watch where you throw this thing, you could've hurt someone, idiot!"

My declaration caused some surprised "Hoooh!" among the crowd. Ryoga frowned at my interruption.

"Who the hell are you!?" He demanded.

I lowered the umbrella, placing it tip first on the ground while keeping my raw palm over the pommel like a sword. My muscles began to cry in relief, but I didn't let that show on my face.

"I am…" Pause for dramatic effect. Everyone drew in. "…_A complete random bystander! _You may carry on with your dramatical confrontation."

People stumbled comically. What? What were they expecting, that I was going to pick a fight with a guy who carried _this thing_ all the time? No, no, no, I had _Ranma_ for that!

And speaking of the martial artist, he just laughed.

"Don't try to be cool if you don't have a follow-up man, that was lame!" He said between chuckles. "Anyway, I just remembered what this guy's deal was. Hiroshi, give me bread!"

"… You have to be more specific."

"All of the bread!"

Well… He asked.

"THAT'S TOO MUCH BREAD!"

"WHAT HERESY ARE YOU SAYING!?"

"AHHHH!" Ryoga stomped on the area between the now bread-covered Ranma and me. The impact made me stumbled backward and forced me to use the umbrella to prop me up so I didn't fall.

"ENOUGH RANMA, NOW YOU DIE- eh?"

"That's melon bread!"

The odd exchange was made from behind the curtain of dust Ryoga's attack had lifted. But when it settled, I could see the lost boy holding a delicious melon bread in his hand.

"Still not enough, hah? You're greedy." Ranma commented from a distance, "Here, Curry Bread."

"There is more, Chow-Mein Bread."

"Croquette Bread!"

"Choco Bread!"

"Avocado Bread!"

Ranma continued to make Japanese bread rain like God did in the Garden of Eden. It was a vision so beautiful it almost brought me to tears.

"That's all I can remember!" Ranma concluded.

In the end, Ryoga had his arms full of concentrated deliciousness. Yet he was trembling in anger, the ingrate. "Ranma… _What is the meaning of this!?"_

"Yes, Ranma," Akane spoke from behind them, the combination of antics had made her forget about the state of her skirt and put her hands to work massaging a surging headache. Two lucky guys behind her were clearly having the time of their lives leering at her exposed underwear. "Please Ranma, explain to us what _that _was all about."

"Hm, well, back at our Junior High, all lunches were like battlefields…"

And then he proceeded to tell us a tale of a boy, a boy whose parent didn't have time to make him a proper breakfast because they got lost on the way to the kitchen, a boy who always spent his mornings hungry, longing, _yearning_ for the time when he could be released from his prison of learning so he could bask on the deliciousness that waited for him in the cafeteria. Many more there seek that same deliciousness, but the boy knew that and prepared accordingly, honing his body and skills until he stood above everyone else for the sole purpose of getting the deliciousness_first._ And the boy did that; victory filled his soul as he closed his finger around his prize… only to be snatched away at the last second by another, more skilled boy.

Again, and again, and again, for a full goddamn year.

"Ranma," I said. Tears staining my cheeks. "You do that shit to me, and I'm murdering you in your sleep."

"E-Even you Hiroshi… please tell me that you're joking."

… Mostly. I want to be part of this comical anime bullshit because it's funny to me, and people were easier to manipulate when the silliness is cranked up to eleven. Doesn't mean I won't try, though.

We were now sitting in a circle having a picnic because that what you do when you have a butch of tasty bread lying around. Luckily many students had wisened up after seeing the lost boy's propensity for causing collateral damage and left, so I didn't have to watch out for _that _many people when the fight inevitably restarted.

And look at that, it already did. While I was lost in thoughts about the emotional tale, Ranma managed to insult Ryoga, or the guy just got impatient again, and they had started duking out, and like, really going at it this time.

Ok, not really… I don't think Ranma can just shrug off one of Ryoga's unreasonably destructive attacks, but he was keeping things casual and focused more on dodging and asking questions than countering. It was clear that he had already gauged the skill of his opponent and correctly deduced that Ryoga was nowhere near as fast or agile as he was. And believe me, if you're not at least that, then you'll never hit the slippery acrobat that is Saotome Ranma.

It was, however, the most impressive battle I've seen Ranma partake. Just because Ryoga wasn't as fast and agile as Ranma, didn't mean he wasn't superhumanly fast and agile, and combining that with his strength… Ok, maybe that's a bit too much strength—_and why the hell is this fucker causing so much collateral damage!? Didn't he know how to aim!? _

Explosions rang out across the courtyard of Funrikan High as it received a barrage of damage comparable to an artillery bombardment, and that was me just _slightly _exaggerating. Every punch and kick Ryoga threw seems to break something, explode a crater into existence, or uproot a tree.

Is this _baseline _Ryoga!? Didn't he get more destructive as the series went on? Fucking hell, I think we're gonna need Kaiju methods to deal with him then!

And why the fuck is he causing so much collateral!? I don't remember Ryoga's first appearance very well, but I'm pretty sure he didn't explode the school on his first fight. Fuck, I can't think of a reason for… Wait a second.

I looked down at my hand… and saw the umbrella dragging behind me. I had gained an extra point in strength just for carrying the thing along while escaping the shrapnels.

Crap! I have the thing with me, that means Ryoga is fighting without it, and so… Wait, he can't use precision attacks without it?! Or maybe he's not used to his own limbs for—Fuck it! It doesn't matter now, have the umbrella, might as well use it!

After about five minutes of pure chaos, the fight finally drew to a close. Well, in a way, it did: Ranma had noticed the damage they were causing and wisely chose to draw Ryoga to another field so they could fight more freely.

I could hear the lost boy declarations of revenge fading in the distance.

**\+ 1 Str.**

**\+ 1 Str.**

I got to admit carrying this thing around is a pain in the ass… and the back… and the arms… oh god, the arms—But I can't argue with results, especially after it earned me _three_ consecutive bonus points in strength.

After the power-up, it was easier to carry the thing around and even maneuver it a bit while it was open.

"You're ok?" I asked the two frightened girls under me; the latest bunch I covered from the shrapnels and debris. I tried to keep a firm grip on the handle of the open umbrella, but some shaking was inevitable.

"Y-Yeah." One of the girls spoke up, her face bright red from the stressful ordeal. Her friend had buried her face on her chest, but now had popped one eye up and was watching me intently.

I nodded. "You two can go now; the worst is already over."

"A-Ah yes, t-thank you!"

After making sure they weren't hurt, I turned around and started walking towards the center of the cloud of dust, waving the damn umbrella while at it in an attempt to close it. Even that is hard to do with this thing; it was like a lump of pure tungsten craved into the shape of an umbrella.

When I finally managed it, I promptly threw the thing into my inventory. Because I'm guessing Ryoga won't show up again for a while, so I might as well use it to do some strength training before I give it back. As payback for my raw hand, of course.

As expected, I found Akane on an area clean from dust, looking at the place where the new martial artist had gone, probably wondering where Ranma could have…

My eye twitched.

"My disappointment is immeasurable."

"What?" Said Saotome Ranma, looking at me.

"I thought you were heroically leading that wrecking ball away from the innocents."

"Meh." He said with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Why is he running away. then?"

"He isn't. He thinks he's pursuing me." Ranma placed his hand beside his eyes to illustrate. "He's like an angry bull. His tunnel vision is something else."

Heh, I can believe that.

Striding past Ranma, I made way towards Akane, who also turned to look at me. Taking off my school jacket, I quickly handed it to her.

"Here, for your little problem."

It was kind of funny watching her blink, her face slowly etching towards the realization she had forgotten while a bright blush spread over her nose and cheek. With an adorable yelp, she went low on her knees, hands snapping to her rear to cover up her shame.

I draped my jacket over her shoulders. "Here, you can give me back tomorrow. And it's not Ranma's fault you know, he was really just trying to drag you away from danger. What happened there was just an accident."

Tendo Akane looked up at me for a long moment, before slowly rising to her feet and tying my jacket around her hips to cover the holes on her skirt.

"Ōe-san… I'd like to apologize."

"Hum?"

"Up to this morning, I thought you were a no-good delinquent, but you're not like that at all." She dipped her head in a short bow. "I'm truly sorry."

"Heh, no need to be so formal." I waved her off. "It's all a big misunderstanding anyway, and it's not like I'm helping with my looks. There is nothing to apologize for."

She smiled at me and—whoa, ok, I got to admit that Akane looks _really_ good when she smiles. She should definitely do it more often.

"Ranma!" She called, stepping close to the martial artists, who looked down at his diminutive fiancée. "I'm… I'm sorry for hitting you before. I shouldn't have jumped into conclusions like that."

Hehe, Ranma's expression after hearing that was comical, there was even a little blush on his face. After blinking his shock away, he put his arms behind his head in a casual matter.

"Meh, it was nothing. It's not like you can hurt me anyway."

Ah, here we go.

"Wh—Are you calling me weak!?" Was Akane's declaration as her mood did a 180, and the following exchange began to drag them both further into anger and insults.

I sighed while watching the famous anime argument play out. It was as more awkward to watch when it wasn't behind a television screen, but I can't deny there wasn't some amusement there.

The wind had swept away most of the dust by that point, showing that despite the impressive effects, Ryoga's attacks didn't damage the school _that_ badly, it was mostly a shitload of cracks on the concrete and a few knock over trees, the most significant crater was the one he made at the start.

Man, I wonder if we'll have classes tomorrow.

"PERVERT!"

A loud slap echoed in response to Ranma's remark about childish underwear.

I look up, noticing the position of the sun, and quickly checking my clock.

Well, I guess school time is over. Time for the more… adult part of my day.

"Man, I'll never understand that tomboy!" Ranma complained while rubbing his aching cheek. Akane was already walking away, fuming.

"Tsunderes, my friend, tsunderes…"

-0-0-0-

"A-Aruji-sama!"

…

What is this?

Seriously, what is this?

I want to believe it's Ueraha Rin, it even has her voice and mannerisms, yet my eyes can only perceive a circular lump of fur cloaks, pants, skirts, hats, scarfs, and an upside-down magazine purposefully covering the face.

Rin had reverted back to her timid, stuttering state. This was kind jarring to see after the erotic day we had, where we basically spent all day cropped up inside my apartment talking and… well, and fucking.

During the entire time, she's been the drop-dead gorgeous woman who had full control of herself and was capable of making clear, concise sentences. If we weren't doing the act of course, in those cases, she was a similarly stuttering mess, but the noises she made then were much sulkier. That time was my most prolonged interaction with her, and that took quite a special place in my mind if I say so myself: that show of kneeling down and literally offering herself to me was especially noteworthy.

So, after all of that, I'd frankly forgotten about this other side of her. And now I'm having difficulties connecting the two into one person. There is only so much that anime quirkiness can excuse.

"Ok… Rin, why are you like this?"

"W-What do you mean, A-Aruji-sama?" Responded the woman, still hiding her face behind the upside-down magazine.

I pushed that cover down and stared at the swirly glasses she was wearing. The visible part of her beautiful face immediately lit up in a brilliant red blush. She then let out a shriek and turned her back at me.

Fear of being seen? Fear of leaving her room? What is it?

"Rin," I said to her back, watching the round buddle of clothes tremble. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No!" She declared immediately. I stumbled back as she was suddenly right on my face. "This one would never be afraid of Aruji-sa…sama… G-Guh…" I watched as she slowly realized our proximity, and the healthy blush this fact caused. "Kya!" Aaand she turned her back again, this time kneeling and holding her face. "A-Aruji-sama~~!"

…Ok, she's cute. Confusing for sure, but cute.

Doesn't mean I'd just drop the subject like that.

"Hey, Rin. Tell me what's the deal with you." I knelt down behind her and poked the top of her head through her puffy hat.

"H-Hum?" She dared to turn her face towards me a little. "This one does not understand, A-Aruji-sama."

"You're like two different people. The you of now and the you from before, I mean." She let out an embarrassed squeak at the memory of what 'her from before' had done. "When I first met you, you were also like that, and then you were totally different later."

I could see her fidgeting under my stare though I don't know if this was for my question or solely for the attention.

"T-this one doesn't know." She answered with a whine. "T-This one is sorry, A-Aruji-sama, but she is just acting like normal. Guhhh." She fidgeted some more. "A-Aruji-sama isn't the first one who asked this one a question like that either."

"Really? Someone else noticed this?" Well, it's not like it's hard to. " Who?"

"A… c-colleague…" She answered after some hesitation.

Ah, another Taimanin then.

Taimanin, one of the things I regret is to not focus more on this subject yesterday… but to be fair, I was a piled-up heap of teenage hormones with a woman of Taimanin's standard completely open to my every advance, so it doesn't need saying that I was very,_ very _distracted.

There isn't to say we didn't talk extensively talk about this, though, It's only that I could use some reminders now that my bigger head was in full control, and I didn't have the juiciest pair of breasts I've ever seen right before my eyes.

"One of the ninja girls, eh?" I commented.

"Aruji-sama! N-Not out in the open!"

"Sorry, sorry." I laughed, rising to my feet. "You know what to do, right."

"H-hai!" Rin, sensing the change to a serious topic, also got up from her kneeling position. Though the mighty blush still ever-present and she still couldn't look directly at me without stutter, well, stutter more. "T-This one guarantee that none shall harm Aruji-sama under her watch!"

That was what we planned this morning when I called and set up a meeting with the History Compilation Committee… An organization that indicates that a _third _anime setting was part of this crazy universe.

The looming presence of _Campione!_ And all its inherited danger was a dreadful prospect to consider, but in the end, there was nothing I could do about it. I could only accept it and move on. Right now, I've confirmed the presence of a coherent supernatural side on this world, and one much more detailed, nuanced and dangerous than the one shown on Ranma1/2. I had to be prepared for it, and that means more than just duck down and focus on leveling up; I needed information, I needed to know what I was dealing with.

The History Compilation Committee, or HCC, was a perfect source of that, not only they are portrayed as fairly benevolent from what I remember of the anime, but they are supposedly deeply involved with the supernatural, or at least the magical aspect of japan as a whole.

Magical… with this I could also address the matter of the rapidly approaching wall on my solo arcane studies, though I was trying to not get my hopes up, this is suppose to be just an introduction after all.

Now, surely on this unknown environment I was about to get into, the first choice for guidance should have been the group that I already know about and is actually _indebted _to me, but the thing about that 'Heavenly Oni Temple' and the Milf Miko… I was still kind of peeved about the tracking spell!

… Jokes aside, this was rather worrisome, I risked my life to save their Hime and they rewarded me by tracking my location without my knowledge. That showed me that, at the very least, magical relations in this world involved a lot of smoke and mirrors even among perceived allies… and that's _if_ the group from the temple considered me as an ally… don't matter now; excessive paranoia will do me no good.

But at the very least, I had someone I've decided to trust, mostly for our brief but oddly intimate history together, and for the notifications from the gamer system of the great increase in our 'closeness'. As a bonus, that person happens to be the only other that I can't see the level of; meaning she's undoubtedly strong.

"Guhhhhhhhh."

… I watched Rin at a distance; she was badly hidden behind a lamppost, clearly watching at me. I got to say when I requested—and then requested again as a firm command at her panting insistence— her to shadow my meeting and make sure nothing bad happened, I was imagining a badass ninja watching over me without I even realize she was there, not this.

And she's giggling now… well, she makes a darn good impression of a yandere admirer… Hey, maybe this can actually work as a masquerade; there is one in my class, and I'm pretty sure I passed a few women with a 'yandere' title during my morning jogs, so they can't be _that _rare.

Will she be fine, though? Can she snap back to the other persona in case of an emergency?

I suppose there is only one way to find out, and honestly, I hope we wouldn't need to put that to the test today.

So began my walk over the pleasant streets of Nerima with my ninja doing a yandere-like stalk behind me. As always, a lot of minor quests popped up in a constant stream. I dismissed all of them but the ones I could fulfill on the walk or took no time at all, like helping an elderly gentleman cross the street, or giving information to a Brazilian tourist who almost hugged me for my ability to speak Portuguese.

Eventually, after a short ride on a deceitfully fast metro ride, I exited the station on Higashiōizumi, a district on the far south of Nerima, quite a few miles away from Funrikan. Because there is no way I'm conducting this meeting close to where I live. Hell, I'm even thinking about moving to another place cuz the current one's been tracked.

The cafe Rin had recommended was just as charming and well put together as Hanna Millers back on my turf, but the uniform here wasn't cut so low, and the waitresses aren't as busty, so it's inferior in every way.

I brought the coffee that I'd asked to my lips.

**\+ 1 Cha.**

This place too hãh? This bonus point seems to be available once every 24 hours. I can get it fairly easily by drinking coffee or tea alone on Hanna Miller, something I certainly didn't mind doing because of bouncing boobs and occasional panty shots that place was famous for, but it didn't occur to me that I could try it out on other cafes. Maybe I could organize a cafe rush to grind charisma. That sounds pretty fun; I could call Ranma and grind exp along the way to—.

"Ara, dear client is already here? I'm sorry to keep you waiting!"

By the cheerful female voice, I can see I won't be dealing with that HCC guy from the Campione! Anime.

"There is nothing to apologize. I've come early on my own and..."

My thoughts screeched to a half as I turned to face the HCC representative.

"Oh my, Ōe-san! What a sweet coincidence to find you here!" Seishuuin Shiori chirped in delight.

_'Coincidence, my ass!'_ Were my thoughts as I watched the smiling Miko circle around the table and sitting in front of me.

Also, Miko? She certainly didn't look like one now; she was wearing a cool, stylish outfit that looked right out of an expensive fashion magazine, the only cooperation I could think of was the memories of my new mother wearing similar custom made French outfits, and she didn't fill up _nearly_as well as Seishuuin Shiori did.

"I have to say Ōe-san, I'd never imagined we would be meeting each other so soon! A pleasant surprise, of course, as I've meant to speak to you." She continued with a smile.

"I'm sure," I said slowly. My eyes sliding to the not-so-inconspicuous Rin, hiding her face on a menu a few tables back. "I don't remember introducing myself to you, Seishuuin-san."

"Shiori, please, and you do not need to worry about your breach of conduct, I forgive you." She smiled magnanimously. "And the reason I know that is because I did a little research on you, I was a little curious about the young man who bravely gallivanted into danger for the sake of my daughter."

Hearing that, I couldn't hold it in. "So much so you saw fit to place a _tracking spell_ on me."

"Ah." To her credit, she actually flinched at my words, and probably at my expression. "I admit that was a rather… harsh action on my part."

'Least she didn't try to deny it.

"Harsh is an understatement. That's not how you build up trust."

"You're right, Ōe-san." She smiled longingly, "I humbly apologize."

Seeing the Miko bowing her head, I sighed and changed the subject. "What are you doing here? I was supposed to meet with the HCC representative."

"Kukuku, you're looking at her, Ōe-san." She declared.

I raised my eyebrow at that, clicking the coffee cup on the little plate and pushing both to the side.

"You work there?"

"In a way." She waved off, "I'm here to explain all Ōe-san needs to know about the world you're getting into." She clapped her hand together. "But first!"

Watched her well-manicured hand slid into… slid into her vast cleavage, making her chest jiggle as she searched for something in there. I moved my eyes to the side because I knew who I was dealing with and waited. Soon, she was holding what appeared to be a card.

"What is this?" I followed it with my eyes as it was pushed in my direction. It was a card, a bit too large to fit comfortably on a hand, and utterly black saved for a narrow white line on the edges.

"It was what remained of the monster who attacked the temple." I sent her a questioning stare. "I feel it's only fair that you have it if you wish to."

"Aren't you going to need it for something," I asked.

"We are investigating the origin of the attack, of course, with _great _interest. But after countless testing, it was confirmed that there was nothing magical or inherent supernatural about this item in particular. So I figured it would only be fair if I asked you if you wanted to keep it rather than destroying it outright, spoils of war and all."

I noted she was only presenting me after testing out to see if she could extract something from it… but I can't blame her for this one. I'd done the same thing.

Reaching out, I tentatively picked up the thing with the intention to give it a closer inspection, only for a game screen to pop up to the forefront of my mind.

**You have found a special magitech artifact of Alien Origin.  
Do you wish to assimilate it into the gamer system?  
Yes/No**

Hohhh, this got potential.

Yet I held back the urge to just accept right there and kept anything from showing in my face. I did this because this Milf is being sneaky again.

She wanted to see if it would react to me in any way.

I looked up to her innocently smiling form.

"I'll take this, thank you."

She nodded, and I slid it into my pocket.

"Now then, shall we begin-"

"How is Ena, by the way?"

The question jumped to my mind so suddenly that I couldn't not ask. Shiori blinked twice, and then her lips spread into a broad smile.

"She is perfectly well. Spent the day asking me when her 'onii-chan' would come back."

"That's good… And the others?"

"The others?"

"The people from the Temple."

"Ah." She let out in a puff of breath, still smiling. "There has been some wounded, but thanks to you, we had time to treat them and keep anyone from dying."

"I see." Something inside me deflated a little bit. "That's good."

Her green eyes twinkled sharply.

"If that's everything, I think we can begin. You'd like an introduction to the…other side of the world right, Ōe-san?"

"I'd managed to discover some things on my own," I said, referring to my meta- knowledge in an attempt to not sound like a complete beginner, maybe that's the petulant teenager in me talking. "But yes, a formal instruction would help smooth things out."

"Then," She leans in, and I purposely kept my eyes on her face; better to admire pretty features accentuated by slight makeup, than get lost on vast cleavages, this is an important talk. She opened her mouth, and I prepared to listen and question.

And before I knew it, she was standing up, pushing her tiny purse beneath her arm. "Let's go!" She chirped.

"Oi?" I blinked.

"Well, you didn't think I would dump a long and heavy explanation here, did you? That would be remarkably boring!"

I blinked at her, processing her statement, then I sighed and stood up

-0-0-0-

"So." Shiori began licking the ice cream she made me buy for her. "You're already aware there is another side to the mundane world, a side where the supernatural, the magical, and the occult dwells."

Wait, is she going to talk about this here? It's the middle of the street!

"Technically this separation is only an illusion, we do all live in the same world after all, but most societies now days have built some pretty good walls between the normal and the paranormal, always with some means of maintaining this secrecy, so it's common to refer to it as two different worlds when talking about the subject. Now, the supernatural side has many names; even within japan there isn't a consensus for it. But recently, an English term originated from South Korea is becoming increasingly popular." She dragged a bit of the cold cream to her mouth in an unintentional lascivious manner, "The Abyss."

"Err, Shiori…-san?" I leaned close, and she nonchalantly latched her arm on mine at this opportunity. I raised an eyebrow at that before continuing. "Is it wise to talk about that here?"

I gestured at the groups of people passing by, the street wasn't crowded, but it was far from being empty.

She sent me a grin. "Do not underestimate a normal person's ability to rationalize the strange. Anyone who hears us now wouldn't think much of it an hour; I could blatantly cast a few cantrips and not raise a single alarm. This is especially true for the Japanese people because they usually have more exposure to aspects of the supernatural than normal."

"So why keep it a secret at all," I asked one of the most important questions for settings… or worlds, I suppose, like this.

Shiori-san lost her smile. "Many reasons, to avoid panic is one of the big ones, we already have our hands full trying to keep a semblance of order within the Japanese's vast and diverse supernatural scene, adding public awareness to it and the usual harsh decision making that it brings, and everything would quickly devolve into chaos, there is historical evidence for this."

I hummed, absorbing the information, "And who exactly are 'we'?"

"I was getting there." The older woman looked up at me, but not by much cuz we're nearly the same heights, and pouted. "Mou, Ōe-san, you're messing with my train of thought!" She complained so cutely I couldn't help but apologize.

"Now, in Japan, the whole mess that is our supernatural scene, or the Japanese version of The Abyss, if you're trying to be more Korean." She chuckled at her own joke. "It's… not regulated, but _connected_ by what is now known of as the History Compilation Committee. We are an organization created in the Heian period by four of the closest families to the emperor, at first, it had the objective to categorize and control the supernatural scene in the country, but after it became apparent that this was a fool's errand, this changed to the modern objective of establishing communication between the many supernatural groups, supervise proper occult usage, and manipulate information to preserve the balance between the mundane and the paranormal." Err, that last one sounded evil. Shiori continued without noticing my expression. "Logically, the vast majority of our members are quite involved with the abyss themselves, with so many arcane practitioners that we are considered a Mage Association to the outside. I, myself, am quite an accomplished one." She bragged.

Quite prideful for a Miko, this milf.

"So, you know about magic?" I asked. Honestly, this was the subject I wanted to know the most as my own limited knowledge is reaching a roadblock.

"Magic… Hum, I'll give you an overview, but it's quite extensive. I prefer to tell you about the immediate danger you might face first."

Ok, that sounds like an interesting subject at least, I can wait.

"Ah!" Shiori squealed suddenly, making me jerk. "There! Let's go there!"

I looked at the big clothing store she was pointing to. "Are you serious?"

"So let's start with broad strokes," Shiori said while racking through the many outfits and dresses. "Humans are not alone in this world, we share a place with many supernatural races and phenomenon's, and as it is with a lot of things, there are many words for them depending on the country or the region, in Japan the most common term is 'Kai': it means anything other than human, and that doesn't belong to a mundane human's perception of normality— Hold this." She pushed a red lace dress into my hands.

I wasn't thinking about it. My mind was in her words. Ever since this whole, Campione thing I've been keeping an open mind to whatever other settings might be combined to this one. Three is a pattern, after all. What's keeping it from having four, or five, or many? I have to stay alert because my meta knowledge might be invaluable.

In this particular case, the word 'Kai' used for supernatural phenomenons and creatures sounded like something from the Monogatari series, which I really hope wasn't part of this because I'm getting enough headaches as it is.

"Are you listening, Ōe-san?" She asked, pushing another outfit onto the growing pile. At my confirmation, she went on. "Narrowing the scope, we have 'supernatural races that aren't human' outside of japan they are called monsters or apparitions. Here, there is one famous word for it." She paused dramatically, looking away from the fabric she was testing with a smirk on her lips. "Yokai."

I tried to not roll my eyes at this showoff.

"Now, Yokai… well, there are Yokai everywhere, you can't really say if they are malevolent or benevolent until you're dealing with one, and you will one-day Ōe-san, I suggest stocking up on lore about the subject… for now though, all you have to know is that they are not always dangerous, but they might be."

I can see the fitting room at the distance, I know what's coming, I'm dreading it… and looking forwards to it.

"Next, we have Akuma… Hmm, to undestand them, you'll have to know a bit about Yokai history."

She closed the door of the fitting room, I relaxed a bit at the pause, but soon after she continued to speak from there. Her voice easily traveling from the closed space to my ears.

"Japan is somewhat unique from the rest of the world due to the enormous population of supernatural species. It got so bad that by the Sengoku Jidai, Yokai freely prowled the forest, attacked villages, and openly got involved with the local human politics. During these times, the separation between the two worlds was virtually non-existent. This would persist until the Meiji period, where the opening of the country's borders brought new ideas and new ways to suppress Yokai; only then we managed to reestablish the separation… and just in time too."

I was left to ponder that last statement when the door suddenly opened to reveal Seishuuin Shiori with a dress that showed way, _way _too much skin to be considered proper for her profession.

**New skill created: Poker Face, lvl:01  
**_**Keeps the effect of emotions from showing on your expression. **_

This skill is silly, but I needed it, oh god, did I needed it.

"What do you think?" She asked.

I carefully kept my eyes on her face _and only on her face_, looking down would mean I'd have trouble thinking.

"Beautiful." Was my answer.

Shiori tilted her head. "Really? You didn't even look."

"Oh, I looked, believe me." There are proper ways to deliver lines like this; usually, if you don't stumble all over yourself and transmit security and confidence, you're golden, even in a world of easily pissed off anime girls.

The milf blinked, then gave me a teasing smile. "Perv~," She said and went back into the fitting room.

Minutes later, she restarted like this exchange hasn't happened.

"Of course, just because we'd managed to reassign the balance didn't mean the problem just disappeared, the yokai population continued to grow despite our efforts, until it reached a critical point on the Taisho period, where it threatened the balance again, and that time it seemed like it would be over for good, and worse, it would spread to outside of Japan due to the open borders. Disaster seemed imminent." By the changes in the tone of her voice and the direction she was going, I'd said she was getting into it. "But then, when everything seemed lost, a group of ten DaiYokai took matters into their own hands. Using their combined power, they created an entirely new world where the yokai could live in peace and crafted laws and mandates that would help the relationship between humans and Yokai for the first time in history. Nowadays, the Japanese government even recognizes its sovereignty. So, while it still very common to find Yokai around, the vast majority of them don't live in this world anymore_." _

Ah, Shiori certainly dropped a lot of bombs there; I can't even fathom the amount of power one must have to _create an_ _entirely new world._

Unless she is exaggerating, and it's more like my inventory, a pocket dimension with a lot of space in it. Yet to make a pocket dimension on the size and scale where people… or at least _beings_ could live in it, still sound like quite the feat.

"Shiori-san," I called over the woman continuing speech, she's clearly passionate about the subject. "What does this have to do with Akuma?"

"Ah!" She made an awkward noise, noticing out now she was derailing things. "A-Akuma are simply Yokai who don't recognize the authority of their own government and cling to the old way. Like I said, the new Yokai government established new rules of conduct when in the human world, but these rules go directly against old yokai habit of eating humans and causing mayhem. Moreover, there are entire yokai communities who see the growing effort to cooperate and blend into the human world as a great sign of weakness and an insult to their species, so there comes the term Akuma, which came to be used when referring to Yokai who refuse to obey the new laws and still act like the Yokai of old."

So, the Sabbat to their Camarilla. Sounds simple enough.

"Ōe-san, what do you think?"

I looked up— Long Chinese dress. Silk spread tautly over unbelievable curves. A long slit on the lower end. Legs for days. Ranma-chan got nothing on this.

"Tasty."

… Wait, what did I say?

Shiori giggled. "Basically, Akuma are Yokai, but they are much more likely to attack you, and rarely consider humanity as anything other than food or annoyances. Any violent Yokai causing trouble is initially considered Akuma before we can clear this out and figure out why it's causing trouble in the first place— And what about this one?"

**Poker Face leveled up**

A tantalizing short skirt swayed as Shiori skipped back into the fitting room.

"Lastly, we have demons." This milf is doing this on purpose. I know it! "Unlike Yokai and Akuma, demons were never creatures of our world. They stem from Makai, another world that's deeply connected to our own."

The door opened, and she exited with another fantastic outfit, but her eyes were serious and hard, locking themselves into mine intently as she stepped close.

"Demons are direct enemies of mankind. They are evil, Ōe-san, living only to cause pain and suffering. They are also lustful and won't stop until they satisfy their sick desires. Out of all these three beings, demons are the most dangerous, not because they are the strongest or more powerful, but because they are the ones who are almost guaranteed to have the worst intention on their mind."

She stared into my eyes for a long moment to let the message sink deep.

… Then promptly turned around to show me a slender, creamy-white back.

"Would you help me with this zipper, Ōe-san?"

Shiori moved on to other lesser beings and dangers, but she made clear that these three types of creatures are the most commonly found on the abyss side of Japan, and she was quite insistent that I treat them all carefully.

"Next up… I suppose there are Gods, but they… they are complicated, and it's unlikely that you'll ever meet one." The milf continued as she placed her choices on the counter, though 'choices' are a bit of a stretch; she's taking everything she got her hands on.

"Sound interesting." I know a bit about how Campione!'s Gods worked, but not when they are mixed with lores from other settings like this world appears to be.

"It is, admittedly… Gods are… there is no conclusive answer for it, they exist and affect the world, but they also are affected by it, and as humanity is an enormous part of the world, they are directly molded by human belief, yet some part of their power are inherent to them, and they can also empower humans with the power humanity grants them and…" Shiori shook her head. "You stay should away from them, Ōe-san, most mean trouble and considering they are extremely powerful, they can bring a considerable amount to the fold, though there is also-AH!" She cut herself and looked at me. Her eyes widened a bit as she quickly added. "And they can never be killed, no, no, you should never try to kill a God, Ōe-san!"

Oi, oi, what is this? I know for a fact this isn't true, is she trying to keep the knowledge of Campiones from me? But why— Wait does she think I will attempt— What the hell do you think I will try to do Shiori-san!?

There was a cough at my side; it was the clerk demanding my attention. He showed me the price… and the multiple zeros it held.

Shiori smiled at me, expectantly.

… Fine, it's not like money is hard to get anymore, it's quickly becoming the things I care less about.

"Not even a hint of hesitation!" Shiori exclaimed. She had latched herself amorously on my side. We had briefly ducked into an alley so she could store all her new clothes on her tiny purse. All while I kept a hungry stare at the bag of holding. "As expected from the direct heir of the Ōe zaibatsu!"

Another sign that she'd did her homework when it comes to my past; I don't know how to feel about that— Wait, _direct_ heir? Didn't this body's memories show that Ōe Hiroshi had an older sister _and_ an older _brother_ for that matter? How can_ I_ be the direct heir then!?

I kept that to myself, of course. I wasn't about to talk private matters with a third party, no matter how hot she was. But I made a note to call that legal representative guy to talk about the state of my family later.

"So, can we talk about magic now?" The subject I'm most interested in.

"How impatient~" She teased with a chuckle, drawing herself even closer, which I can't say I don't appreciate. "Very well then, but the thing about magic is… AH!" She suddenly squealed and pointed at an area behind me. It seems to be a toy shop… with a claw machine beside the entrance.

"Ōe-san, get me something from that thing!" She demanded enthusiastically

"You're serious?" The sparkling green eyes told me that yes, she was serious.

**New Quest: defeat the claw god and claim the toy from his toy throne!  
**_**A sexy woman is demanding a cute pushy toy, be a man and give her some.**_**  
Reward:**

**50 exp.**

**Increase closeness with Seishuuin Shiori.**

**Increase closeness with Seishuuin Ena.**

**Accept/Refuse**

I even got a quest for it! I'm honestly amazed.

Well, it's not like it's a bother, and it does give out some pretty high exp for this level of difficulty. And there is also the fact the quest implied she would give the toy to her daughter… Yeah, I saw no problem with accepting it.

"It's difficult to talk about magic because there are hundreds, if not thousands variation of it." Shiori began with her face pressed on the machine's glass panel, watching me fail at claw. "At its core, magic is the manipulation of reality in accordance with one's will, and this phenomenon is fueled by a mystical energy that's thought to be part of the foundations of the world. This energy is present everywhere, but when inside a living being it takes a more tangible form. The western world, which utilizes this version of the energy more prominently, calls it 'mana'."

Nothing she said was really surprising if you think about, but hearing her put it to words was comforting like it was reassuring my discoveries.

"Using mana to cast spells is the most popular form of casting, I won't go into details because, frankly, it's impossible to go over everything even if I talk for a day, hell, maybe even for a week." She made a cheering noise when one of the toys approached the wining hole, but sighed once it fell. "Here in Japan, and the east in general, magic has taken a lot from Shintoism and the Daoist Arts, we tend to utilize a bit more than Mana on our spells and rituals… but going into Spiritual energy now would be opening a much bigger can of worms." She muttered that last part, but I managed to hear it. I made a note to look for that later.

I saw some kids looking at our direction; a 'grown-up' trying to win at a claw machine does attract some attention, I guess. This is bad because they would come over and probably take their parent with them, which could silence our conversation temporarily.

Thinking about ways I could beat this quest quickly, I come to a decision that's been slipping from my mind all this day and brought forwards my status screen. Dumping all my ten available points in Dex to equalize it to the other physical attributes, I finally got the last edge I needed.

Sure enough, my coordination and ability to gauge distances with my eyes greatly sharpened, it was a piece of cake putting the claw precisely on top of the blue penguin plushy I was aiming for.

It still took me three tries because the cheating machine was programmed to gradually lessen the strength of the claw as it made its way to the hole. But it was just a matter of persistence.

"Yay! Thank you, Ōe-san!" Shiori said cheerfully, while she rubbed her fluffy penguin against her cheek, the expression on her face made her look like a teenager for a moment.

**Quest completed!**

**50 exp.**

**Your closeness with Seishuuin Shiori has increased.**

**Your closeness with Seishuuin Ena has increased.**

"Is there something more you can tell me about the subject?" I asked.

Her green eyes gleamed mysteriously. "Well…"

She started breaking down the many styles of magic she knew about, but only gave me general information that while useful to know, it wasn't what I wanted. I kept my mouth shut about that, however; it was obvious that what I needed was a full blown magical teacher, and this meeting was strictly to introduce me to the basic of the abyss itself, not _solely _magic, details about that would have to wait until I found someone to teach me, or, if possible, I reach some kind of understanding with Shiori later.

Then, while we were crossing a relatively isolated street, a body fell out of an alley.

I flinched, but it was clear that it wasn't related to us, it was just a beaten up teenager being cornered by five bigger ones.

"Stop! I give! I give! Please no more!" Said the smaller teen, crawling backward while the others laughed and loomed closer.

"Oh, dear. Youngsters these days are so wild!" Shiori said more like an old lady than the young milf she was.

By now, I was used to all the random quests popping up in my vision. I don't even flinch when they pop up anymore, and I got good at reading them on the fly. But I never noticed the sheer amount that assaulted me every day before today, when I tried to actively ignore it to focus on Shiori.

However this; this is ridiculous.

It's like fate itself was changing the world to give me random encounters and quest opportunities, kinda like Ranma and the way cold water always seems to find him. This got to be the most blatant quest bait I'd ever experienced.

"W-What are you doing, no, no, my legs, please stop that!?"

"Shut up! That's what you get for going against Ragnarok! _Break_ _it _guys!"

I sighed; might as well accept it, more exp this way.

"Excuse me for a moment," I said to a softly smiling Shiori

**New quest: Magnificent debut of the**— A quest screen predictably popped up, I just accept it without reading it, I didn't need to.

Literally twenty seconds later, I was flatting the face of the last one of the delinquents under a palm strike. The speed that I managed to finish that fight honestly scared me.

I looked at the droplets of blood on my palm, the same palm that has been injured by Ryoga's umbrella early today. I was lucky I chose to start with the strongest of them, some level 13 dude with a fancy title, my punch had sent him flying into a dumpster but thankfully didn't kill him. After that shock, I realized I had to hold back to deal with the rest; otherwise, I might have honestly crippled them.

I was still able to bring everybody down in seconds… was I this strong already?

**Quest completed! **

**30 exp**

**Your closeness with the Viper's gang of middle school hooligans has increased.**

**You have made a debut into the Tokyo's delinquent scene.**

Vipers? Is this guy part of them too? Heh, he also looks like he is thirty—Wait, _debut to_ _what!?_

"W-Who… Who are you?"

I turned to the Viper guy on the ground. He was looking up at me with literal _stars_ in his eyes.

Oh hell.

"Kyahhh, Ōe Hiroshi-kun~!" The mindboggling hot milf _latched_ herself onto me, dragging her very prominent curves against my side "You are _sooo _cool-desu! Let's go to a love hotel right away!" She cried in an obnoxious female tone that didn't fit her at all.

The guy did the impossible and managed to add _even more_ stars to his eyes.

Urg.

"That was horrible." I said to the milf after I finally managed to get the Viper guy to go on his way and stop bothering us with his 'nii-san!' bullshit.

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist!" Shiori placed a hand on her cheek satisfyingly. "Playing with youngsters is so fun!"

I grumbled. I'm letting this go cuz it was my own fault in the first place.

Shiori chuckled, "I was serious, you know, that was an impressive display of physical prowess. Ōe-san, you might have a talent for martial arts."

I directed us to walk across what it seemed like a beautiful natural park. The late afternoon sunlight shone over us. "And what about Martial Artists? What can you tell me about them?"

"They are weird," Shiori answered immediately but chuckled soon after. "Though I suppose we are all weird in our own ways." She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked. "They are warriors that enhance their bodies with the raw energy of life itself, tempered within their bodies and expressed in their techniques, at first glance they are less flexible than mages but the sheer variety of styles and what they can accomplish may cast doubt on that, especially among masters. Their community is the one who is the nearest to the edge of the abyss; it's impressive who much absurdities a normal person can accept if it comes from martial artist, especially in Asian countries." A cold wind blew past, making her snug closer. "Maybe this is because they were always in the public eye, one way or another."

I thought about that. True, even back in my world, everybody knew or heard about martial arts, it's a practice that's been around forever, and it's accepted it could make a person do some crazy shit like breaking bricks with their hands and endure a great amount of pain. This is true for this world too, only here, a martial artist is capable of unleashing _a lot_ more destruction and do _a lot_ more impressive feats than back there.

I actually blinked when the realization came; if there have always been martial artists like Ranma or Ryoga who could causally break boulders with their hands, then I could see why it never raised much of a big deal. Hell, back in my world, someone like Ryoga would end up on the news for sure, but here nobody does anything more than look over curiously.

Holy shit, I never thought about that.

"Kukuku, Ōe-san looks interested." Shiori laughed, "You're in luck then; Japan, and Tokyo especially, have one of the biggest concentration of martial artists in the world, I wouldn't go so far to say that you're able to find masters in every corner but they are definitely around if you look for them. In fact…" She hesitated. As if she was deciding if she was going to share this or not, but she continued in the end. "Right now in the city there is a particular organization that's highly regarded as _the strongest under the mountain, _where a group of masters who reached the peak of their art gather. But." She placed a finger over her puffy lips. "I'm not allowed to tell their location. But I'm sure you'll be able to find them if you _really_ try, those people are pretty noticeable."

Again, I made a mental note to look at that, it was not exactly what I was looking for, but it was interesting. Although… "The strongest under the mountain? That's an odd title."

"Ah, well… let's just say in the martial artist's world there is a… _impossible mountain_ that _nobody_ is capable of climbing. The rest just fight for the place under that said mountain."

Now, that sounded cryptic, but I had a fairly good idea of what she might be talking about. Considering that Campiones are a thing, and one of them, that Chinese chick I forgot the name off, was a Campione _and_ a martial artist, it becomes pretty clear who this 'mountain' was.

"Ah, there! Let go there next!" Shiori suddenly called.

I sighed at the sight of the movie theater.

From then on, the conversation waved across various topics. It was indeed an 'introduction' to the more supernatural aspects of society; she kept things as general as possible so she could have time to touch on other subjects, the reason for this entire discussion really seems to be informing me about the supernatural dangers I might face rather than truly instruct me into a deeper meaning of a particular subject.

It was slightly disappointing, but I've been expecting this. This is only an introduction, after all. Frankly, the fact that the HCC is taking the time to tell me this speaks wonders about their organization.

That said, I have no doubt they could also help me more, provide me with knowledge and means to walk whatever path I take… But I'm not naïve enough to think that would come without strings attached.

It was well into the night by the time we reach the entrance of the park where Miraidochi-ji, the temple that Shiori is head Miko off, was located.

I have no idea why it isn't called Temple of The Heavenly Oni by the official sources, but I didn't make a comment in the case this was secret information that the Gamer displayed for me.

Shiori threw her arms up, stretching her back with a hum. "Mmm, time sure fly when you're having fun!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed this date then." I chuckled.

The milf snapped her eyes to me, staring me for a long moment before pouting. "… I wanted to see you squirm when I finally pointed that out."

"Sorry, but I'm not that naïve." I let out a breath. "It was fun, though."

"Definitely." She stepped close. I was preparing for her to step all the way to give me a kiss of the cheek like the last time, but instead, she surprised me. "Here."

From her cleavage pocket, she took out a small, thin book with no words in the cover.

"What is this?" I said, dismissing the message to absorb the information to look at it.

"It's a standard guide the HCC gives to every newbie like you. It has everything we talked about and more!"

Oh…

…

"Wait. Then, couldn't you just have given me that is the first place!? What was the point of all of that!?"

"Maaa~ I sure had fun today, this old lady feels ten years younger~," Said the milf with one hand innocently draped over her cheek.

I sighed. Fine, it's not like I mind having a curvy woman rubbing herself on me all afternoon.

"Then, if that's all."

"It's not, there is one last thing we have to talk about."

Eh?

Her tone is different; it grew heavy and serious, not at all like the cheerful woman I just had a date with. It was the tone she used when I first met her.

My shoulder stiffed suddenly as I noticed the change in the atmosphere.

"Ōe Hiroshi-san." She intoned. My name rang oddly on her lips. "I speak to you now not as a representative of the History Compilation Committee, but as the second daughter of the Seishuuin clan."

"Hai," I responded seriously. Trying to match her.

"Thank you."

"Eh?"

"You have done a great service to us by safeguarding the life of one of our own... The clan's elders have spoken and reached the unanimous decision to grant you a boon. Anything you ask, as long if it's within the realm of reason, the Seishuuin clan will do everything on its power to give it to you."

If I didn't realize right away how serious this was, the atmosphere would certainly give me a hint, I didn't know who the Seishuuin clan was, but they must have some weight behind their names if their second daughter is the leader of a huge supernatural temple with an army of mikos at her disposal.

I also didn't miss the implication of this, the clan was in my debt, and I was an outsider, I'm sure that while they may be thankful, they _do not_ want the current state of affair, and asking me directly what I want was the shortest road to change that.

Still, this was an… invaluable opportunity.

This is it. This is what I wanted, the opportunity to get a magic teacher, and even better; this would come from a 'boon'. It would be the closest thing to a non-strings attached deal I could get in this still mysterious society.

So I open my mouth to ask for just that.

… And then I close it.

Opening again and… close it.

Crap.

My shoulders slumped and I closed my eyes. This was indeed the perfect opportunity, but everything I could think of was…

"I got this friend…" I opened my eyes, setting my voice. "He's been cursed. Could you cure it? Or at least do something about it?"

The night washed silently over us, crickets sounds filled the place.

"…Y-you're using a boon from the Seishuuin clan… for a friend?"

Something inside me squirmed, Urgggggg, It hurt so much hearing her putting like that!

Suddenly, Shiori starting laughing; A beautiful bell that rang musically in the cold night air but still gave me the embarrassment of the ages. I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"Sorry—"

"Yes! Of course, you would!" She giggled and raised a finger. "One week."

"Sorry?"

"Curses are not my specialty, but I know some of the best curse breakers in the country. Give me one week to prepare, then bring your friend to the Temple. We'll deal with it then." She beamed.

"Ah-I…" Well, it is done, sigh, Ranma better do something nice for me. "Thank you."

"Now, if this is everything."

Her green eyes shimmered. I _recognized_ that look she held it before when… Yep, stepping close, she mashed her breast on my pectoral and tilted her head up to give me the same kiss from before.

Not this time!

"Mn!"

Was her surprised hiccup when I suddenly turned my face and met her lips with my own, circling my arms around her waist to keep her in place. After a moment of shook, her green eyes closed, and she mewls into the kiss, her hand wrapping around my shoulders.

There was no tongue, of course, no gentleman does that on the first date, but it was deep. Our bodies were close enough to share our warmth. I could feel Shiori's fragrance, her taste. It was intoxicating, but I've managed to keep a level head; my body wasn't as piled up as before.

When we separated, Shiori kept her lips pushed and eyes closed, and there was a faint blush painting her face. I felt good about this… purely for payback, of course!

"Ah." She let out as her eyes blinked open, seeing my boyish grin. "Ah… I… N-Nooo, I can't~ what would my husband say!?"

A scratching sound exploded in my head. "Hold on, _what!?"_

Shiori stumbled backward, her hands holding her brightly blushing cheeks while her mouth fought a growing smile. The light of a nearby post reflected over the golden ring on her left hand—_Where the hell did that come from!?_

"D-Darling, a handsome young man is trying to steal me away! What should I do!? What should I do!?" She wiggled her body from side to side, the silly smile still in place.

"Ah, I-I—Wait!" I hold up a hand, but she turned around and began hopping way.

"Darling, Ena-chan, save me~!"

And off she went.

I… I don't know what happened.

"Grrrr." I groaned, massaging my temples. "That sneaking Milf!"

"Aruji-sama."

"Ah!" I quickly snapped my head around to find Rin on my side, the night casting a long shadow over her clothed figure. "R-Rin!"

"Aruji-sama, this one has been trained in the arcane arts for a bit, she will be most happy to pass on this knowledge if needed." She said without a hint of stutter.

"Ah, yes, I mean, _yes,_ thank you, that would help out a lot." Her sudden apparition made me think back about the day. I realized something. "Man, I really forgot you're watching us, I guess no matter how you are, your ninja skills are always top-notch."

"Guhhhhhh!"

"Rin? Wait, why are you pouting?"

-0-0-0-

I let out a satisfied sigh, softly thumping the back of my head against the wall of my apartment.

At the far corner, which wasn't really that far, was a recently bought tiny television prompted by a steel frame with shelving space for a cassette player; it was turned on a late-night anime show that I didn't recognize. At another corner, fixed close to the base of the kitchenette, was a small squared table where I have my dinners on, it still had the plastic remains of the convenient store bentos over it. The curtains and the glass door to the narrow balcony were open and half-open respectively, letting in the chilly night inside while letting the previously cramped air out. It still smells like sex a little, something that caused the moe ninja to let out no shortage of amusing reactions.

"Guhhhhh."

And speaking of the Taimanin, her embarrassment had reached critical mass a short while ago, making her sense go haywire. She then collapsed comically on the tatami floor, and I took the opportunity to peel out some of her clothes, not nearly enough to threaten her modesty, but enough to let her sweaty skin breathe a little.

Her unconscious form mewled a little against my leg as I lazily worked my fingers on her scalp; I find it cute that she unconsciously drew close to me when I sat next to where she was lying.

This place has quickly become home.

Ahahh, I don't want to move! But I've certainly been tracked there, having this kind of information around, especially after the talk I had and the guide I absorbed sounds a bit too risky for my paranoia's sake, and that's not even counting the hassle I'll have to go through with my family agent; he definitely going to see it as me trying to weasel out from the tradition, I wouldn't be the first Ōe who tried.

… But I guess these are worries for the future, right now I had something much more interesting to try out, something that I've been itching for, ever since my 'meeting' ended.

The mysterious card easily slipped out of my pocket. The size of the thing should have made it difficult to fit in a pant's pocket in the first place, but I had been able to slide inside just as easy as a car key or a small wallet. In fact, it should have been bothering me all day by scrapping against my leg or at least making itself noticeable, but it didn't. It impossibly fitted inside the smaller compartment without much difficulty.

A gamer screen interrupted my musings about spacial anomalies.

**You have found a special magitech artifact of Alien Origin.  
Do you wish to assimilate it into the gamer system?  
Yes/No**

The implication of this sentence made me literally drool, and it provoked a pang of dread to traverse my system. After all, I had found out today, all the politics, different races, secret groups, and supernatural dangers, I still have to take _freaking_ _Aliens _into consideration. That was what the gamer was implying, at least.  
On another hand, I had a piece of _magitech _around my fingers, a perfect combination of technology and magic. A better, more capable man than me would've been able to experiment the fuck out of it, and learn it's secrets, or at least figure out what the fuck it does. I, however, am not capable of that, so I went with the next best option.

As soon as I hit 'yes' an honest-to-god progress bar appeared, it took a few seconds to fill up, and as it did so, the card slowly dissolved into specks of blue light.

And then finally…

Nothing.

… More nothing.

I thumped my head on my wall again, sighing. Well, good try, I guess.

**Skill created through special action: Summon Cardian lvl 01.  
**_**Allow you to summon a servant construct of the Sylvan race. The max level of the Cardian is tied to the level of this skill.  
Active Summon slots: (1/1)  
Cardian available:**_

_**Unnamed**__** of The Strength**_

**Skill created through special action: Cardian Refilling lvl 01.  
**_**Allow you to refill a cleansed Cardian in exchange for MP. **_

The appearance of the two special skills made me jerk upright.

"Ouww."

"Sorry Rin," I said to the woman on the floor, but she just continued to sleep, at least she seems to do so.

I turned my attention back to the screens, carefully reading the contents. Then a grin threatened to split my face.

That's a summon, right? I just got a summon creature skill, basically the ability to summon someone to have my back in a fight. Fuck, that could change everything about how I do combat, the possibilities alone would— I _have_ to try it out! Ludicrous amount of Mp cost no standing.

So I did, I activate the skill, and it immediately became apparent that I wouldn't be able to use this in the middle of a fight.

Not only the Mp cost was immense, but also the progress bar that popped out on the corner of my vision told me I would need a full minute to summon that thing.

This realization would come to me later, right now I was busy trying to translate _whatever the fuck_ my Mana was doing into less mindboggling terms. The skill has taken control of my reserve like I was doing a default spells, but I can't for the life of me figure out _what the heck_ it was doing, only that my mana was being used, _somehow._

It was disconcerting, like, if a master martial artist grabbed your arms, tied your legs to his own, and then forced your body into complex movements to beat an alley full of enemies. You still feel the movements, you still watch the process, and you still achieve the objective, but you can't really process _how._

"A-Arujin-sama! Get back!" Rin suddenly put her body between me and the center of the room. Where a bunch of _my_ mana had somehow ended up and… Oh, they were condensing into a pretty evil-looking mass of darkness.

It just occurred to me then, _what _I was summoning. That monster, that furry cow woman thing that fought through an army of mikos and priest to kidnap or kill a little girl, I remembered how vicious she was in a fight, how mercilessly she brutalized me, and how she seems to enjoy the dread and hopeless she provoked on the girl as she slowly walked to her defenseless target. That thing wasn't something a morally upright person would use.

This was too close from _demon summoning_ from my taste, and just after I absorbed a guide detailing why that was such as stupid idea in the first place.

The game system didn't care for my sudden pang of regret; it dutifully finished the progress on the bar, and stop gnawing on my Mp at the same time.

_**"MINON!"**_

The roar_ shook_ the apartment, bashing both me and my taimanin with an almost physical shockwave of air that knocked down most of the things on my apartment, including my brand new television. One more, my ears were assaulted by that joyful sound this monster always…

Hold on, joyful?

I lowered my arms from my face and blinked my eyes open.

She stood in the center of the apartment, a 2 meters tall, California tanned, hourglass figure of considerable muscle definition. A combo of reddish gauntlets and greaves covered her arms and legs, a metal bikini top tried to hold her massive breasts, a similarly metallic thong did a better job with her modesty, though the short leather curtain they had didn't do anything about the naked thickness of the thighs. A cloud-like mass of spiky golden hair fell to her back, save for a pair of pink bangs among the ones that fell over the attractive face that was locked into an expression of pure excitement. She would have looked just like a normal woman, albeit Amazonian tall, amazingly proportioned, enviably muscular and wearing a high-quality barbarian cosplay if it wasn't for the inhuman traits: An pair of huge dark brown horns on top of her head, and an equally large bovine tail flapping from her lower back.

Definitely not the blue and red monster that I faced before.

"GREETINGS MASTER! I AM READY FOR YOUR COMMAND!" She can talk now too!? "TELL ME WHAT TO SMASH, _MINON!"_

**Unnamed.****  
Cardian of The Strength  
Level 05.**

And that was when Rin threw a shuriken at her forehead, which made her yelp, flinch back, and pierce her horns through the walls of my apartment like it was made of paper. She then proceeded to curse like an angry sailor in full volume.

I can feel my headache growing.

* * *

A/N: So there you have it, the dreaded exposition chapter, to tell the truth I'm really worried about this one cuz I don't like exposition chapters in general and try to avoid them but I kinda wrote myself into a corner by putting a non-malignant organization who is willing to help the MC out by explaining this, I hope I made it entertaining at least.

Course, you can get the hints of the other cross over from the talk, some more then other, I'm also worried by the Yokai lore cuz I blend something together with many different settings into a coherent whole. but until now no canon that I'm using it's only of shape, but I guess now it's just trying my best.

Chapter 7 Preview: Hooligans! Grinding! Martial Art! B-B-Boss! Expectation Subverted! OH MY!

Also Aruji-sama is a old japanese way to refer to master, it's who samurai and ninja refers to their lords.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N, Read it first!:** So I planned to have more stuff in this chapter, but it ended up being too massive, and it felt too much like an individual chapter for me to not close it down. The problem is that I wasn't able to met all the promises I made in the last chapter here.

Sorry about that, i can promise you'll see the rest in chapter 8, and as for the preview themselves. Well I don't want to get rid to them because they are a homage to the 90's but as they are they form situations like this, where I didn't met all the promises but the chapter finished, and yes that's a me problem, anyway, so I going to experiment in limiting them to three or four words next time.

* * *

Chapter 07

* * *

The werewolf in my class was kind enough to inform me that my Illusion Barriers affect reality, so now I have to be mindful of that.

That's why I'm standing on a vacated lot near my apartment and not inside it.

"Id create!" I chanted to the early morning sun and watched the world grow darker around me, the city soon grayed out and was taken over by a deep mist.

Even with the low visibility and the distant sounds the monsters were making, it was still less creepy than the utter silence of the empty version of the skill.

**Illusion Barrier Creation leveled up!**

Nice! I was starting to get worried.

Dismissing the screen, and not wanting to erase the barrier and raise it again for what was essentially an experiment; I focused on my brand new skill and activated the minute-long summoning sequence.

As the progress bar filled up, I could somehow feel the new alien creature I'd ordered to stay at my apartment disappearing from where she was, and appearing there, right over the evil-looking summoning circle.

"UWOOOHH! MINON HAS ARRIVED! _MINONNNN!"_

I flinched at the minotauress's booming voice. In retrospect, naming her after her verbal tic was a bad idea; now I can't know when she was referring to herself or just exclaiming the thing for the heck of it.

Why did I do that again? Oh yeah, it was funny to me

**Minon.  
Cardian of The Strength.  
Level: 5**

Well, it's not like I can take it back now.

"Volume!" I reminded the summon.

"WHAAT… Oh! Yes!" She kept the broad smile up while she rubbed the back of her head with a gauntleted hand, "Sorry, master."

I nodded, "This is the place I talked about. You can go wild as much as you like in here." She loudly inhaled an excited breath at these words. "There is a lot of monsters around. Your duty is to kill them… Are you sure you're ok with spending all day like that?"

"Yes! Of course! I want that very much, minon!"

She certainly seems like it, with the whole trembling with excitement and all.

"What about food?" I asked.

"Tasty! But don't need it!"

"Rest?"

"What's that? Minon?"

Ok, not human, already knew that… That confused 'minon' was kinda cute, though.

"Right then. Minon, I order you to slaughter the monsters in this area for the rest of the day."

"YES!" She beamed, then she rushed to the side and promptly brought down her Warhammer on top of a slime that got too close.

The ground beneath the creature cracked easily, but the monster itself didn't see to be bothered by it and just reformed its body around the hammer's head like I'd seen they do with Ranma's fist.

"Oh, and some of the monsters are immune to blunt damage, so you have to find another way too…" I trailed off.

Wait a second!

"Grrr! Annoying thing!" Minon groaned as she hoisted her weapon high with the slime around it. Then the slime began to shine—no, the hammer part of the weapon started to shine.

Minon struck the weapon down again, seemly aiming at the ground itself. "POWER STRIKE!"

The ground and the creature _exploded,_ throwing shrapnel's and slimy goo everywhere and leaving a pretty sizable crater behind.

"AND STAY SMASHED WHEN I SMASH YOU! _MINON!"_

The display had left me momentarily stunned, but I didn't lose sight of what I'd noticed before.

"Minon, wait!" I shouted before she could disappear into the mist. The cowgirl's body suddenly _froze_ under the weight of my command, but she was able to move again once she reined in her bloodlust and stopped fighting it.

"Master, _come on!"_ Minon whined like a petulant child, both of her arms slumped with the long handle of the Warhammer in her grip. "You said—"

"Where did you get that?" I asked, interrupting her complaint.

"Minon?" She looked down confusedly. Checking out her bikini barbarian getup, her bovine tail waggling behind her with the inspection. The incriminatory Warhammer was now propped at her side, standing as tall as she was, with a comically large head. It looked more at home in a Jrpg than real life.

"_That_ thing." Repeated, making obvious where I was pointing. "I'm certain you didn't have that weapon before, I'd _definitely_ have noticed it if you did."

In fact, now that I'm looking at her closely, the weapon wasn't the only thing different about her. Her gauntlets from last night, hell, from before I exited the apartment, were a pair of enormous, bulky things that made her already muscular arms look three times bigger than they actually were, but now her gauntlets were gripping tightly to her skin, looking way more slender than before. They're still huge due to the size of her arms, but it was a shadow of the size of before.

"Oh, this?" She said, waving the weapon a few times before resting it at her shoulder. "I grabbed it!"

… Ok, how? Where? I thought I ordered her to stay in the apartment.

"And where exactly did you grab it?"

"Ah, in between, minon." She said with a nod and a smile, happy to have explained things so precisely.

I tried to not let my eyebrow twitch. "What is this, 'in between', Minon?"

"You know, in between, _in between!"_ She lowered her weapon to the ground, propping its long handle on her shoulder as she began to gesture with her now free hands. "Like, I was in that boring squared room, and now I'm here. But I went past the in between and was able to change things up."

…In between, maybe… the place where she goes when she isn't summoned? And she's saying she went to this place now, in the minute it took for her to be summoned.

No, I distinctly felt her being dismissed from my apartment _in the exact same moment_ the progress bar had filled up. So she when to that place in an instant and… what? Picked up a weapon…

Her gauntlets... They are not only smaller, but they also lacked the fingerplates they used to have, almost like...

"A weapon. You can choose between different weapons when you're summoned." I concluded.

"Eyup!" Minon declared happily, twirling the heavy Warhammer as if it was a wooden stick. "I have this to smash things well, I have my gloves to smash things with my punches, and I have a bigass ax to slash things if I ever get tired of smashing things, but I never used, minon!"

Three weapons she can choose from. This wasn't displayed in the skill's info.

"You can change anything else beyond your weapons?" I asked.

"Ehhh, I don't care about that, I only want to smash things; can I go smash things now master? Let me smash things!" She whined.

"Just a second, I want to see something first."

She'd said she didn't care, meaning she goes by her instinct, but it doesn't mean she doesn't_ know _about it. I breathed in and tried a different approach. "Minon, _tell me what you can choose when you are about to be summoned,_" I said, activating the skill-based effect that would make my words into an order to her.

The results were immediate.

She straightened up her back, the butt of her weapon clanging on the floor as she hoisted it with the discipline of a formal guard. Her normally restless green eyes suddenly went numb.

"Master, I'm able to choose between a pair of fighter gauntlet, a two-handed Warhammer, a two-handed battleax, or go unarmed for my melee options. I'm also able to choose up to three abilities from a pool of six in each summoning, with the individual level of each decreasing in relation to the amount chosen. I'm also able to choose where to allocate my status points provided that I do not stray from the template of The Strength aspect. I'm also able to choose my outwards appearance to a certain extent; this includes the length and color of my hair, the shade of my skin, the definition of my musculature, the size of my chest."

At the end of her mechanical rant, she blinked, her green going back to their natural shine. "Oh yeah, I can do that! Thank you for reminding me, master!" She finished with a big, toothy grin.

Meanwhile, I was getting over my shock: I'm pretty sure she used _gamer_ related terms right there. Is it because she is a construct created by the Gamer? Maybe if I…

"Status." I tried.

**Ōe Hiroshi  
The Gamer— **

I closed the screen and tried again.

"Show me the Cardian status." Nothing. "Cardian, status." My status screen popped up again, which I closed without pause. "Minon, status… Cardian Minon Status."

A screen popped up— there we go!

**Minon.  
Cardian of The Strength.  
Level: 5  
Hp: 4.800/4.800.  
Mp: 25/30  
Str: 130  
End: 95  
Dex: 09  
Agi: 04  
Int: 02  
Wis: 02  
Cha: 03 **

**Abilities:  
Power Strike. lvl 02.  
**_**Bask your next strike with your internal energy to increase its damage.**_

**Tough Skin. lvl 02.  
**_**Your skin is leathery and hard to break, increases your natural defense to physical attacks.**_

**Berserker Fury. lvl 02.  
**_**When your Hp decreases below 20%, you receive a boost of Str and End, at the price of Int and Wis. **_

She does have a status screen!

Also holy shit, she got a three-digit stats at level 5, and the amount of Hp she has is pretty cheaty too… Though all her other stats are all below 10, so, balance?

I chuckled, she really is integrated into the gamer system, even if she is technically a different person, she still my summon, maybe the system sees her as a mechanic itself, or a weapon, hell, or even a spell. But I suppose this doesn't matter. Also, I do not see any exp bar on the place mine usually stays, but that kinda makes sense considering her level is tied to my Summon Cardian skill.

I'm really liking this stream of discoveries! And that's even before I tried out what I actually come here to see in the first place.

"Master, come onnn," Mino whined again, clearly tired of my evils chuckles and eager to do what apparently was her favorite thing in the world.

"Right, right, sorry, anyway, that should be enough for now. So Minon." I smirked, letting a pause hang in the air. "Smash."

Always wanted to say that.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Was her fierce battle cry as she sunk into the mist. The appropriated smashing sounds followed shortly after it.

I grinned while I watched my exp bar. It seems the experiment was a success. Slowly but surely, the bar was being filled.

-0-0-0-

I was still keeping my eyes on the ex bar as I exited the ID and went into the city.

Truth be told, it wasn't an efficient method of leveling up. If my calculations were correct, I'm only gaining part of the total exp from the monsters Minon killed, another part went directly to my Summon Cardian skill, and a third part was seemly lost. That pissed me off a little; wouldn't make more sense if the exp were divided equally?

The answer is yes, yes it would. But instead, the gains are almost random; sometimes I get most of it, other times my skill receives the most, and on others, both I and my skill get the minimal amount, and the majority was lost.

Fucking Gamer, work with full numbers, damn it!

That annoying fact, coupled with the fact that my level is way above the monsters of an Illusion Barrier level 4, made so the amount of exp I received was small and anything but consisted. Still, a semi-constant stream of 1 or 5 exp is better than nothing. The trick was to forget about it and go about my day.

And that was what I did: navigating the streets with growing familiarity. I kept my eyes open for the type of shop I wanted to find, but I wasn't so lucky, my current objective, however, was actually quite easy to find, I just needed to ask some locals for direction.

The Tendo's residency stretched over a sizable chunk of rectangular land. It was composed of a large two-story house built on the traditional Japanese style, a smallish dojo built in the same way, and, going by what the show showed me, a pretty ample greenery with trees and a koi pond spread around it. I let out a whistle of appreciation as my eyes rolled over the white painted walls.

Definitely a decent sized house, but not quite a mansion; I've seen what actual Japanese mansions looked like, especially on the Ōe side of my memories, those fuckers can stretch like football stadiums.

I was circling the walls in the direction of the front entrance when I realized I wouldn't need to go that far. There were unmistakable sounds of meaty strikes and shouted cries coming from a particular part of the wall that told me there was fighting going on the other side.

"Hey, Ranma!" I shouted over the walls.

"Hiroshi?" Came the reply, then, a loud crash happened, followed by a muffled sound, and then a noisy splash of water before Ranma leaped over. Landing in front of me wearing a slightly ruffled training gi.

"Hey man, how's it going? Didn't know you knew where I lived." He said with a cheerful smile.

"I asked around. Got sometime? I have excellent news." I gave him a smile of my own, eager to see his face when I tell him. "I'm sure you'll like it a lot."

"Hoh? Try me,"

And on the next instant, a freaking panda crashed down right on top of Ranma.

No, no, it wasn't a panda; there is no way that thing could be a panda. Pandas are cuddly-looking creatures that grow up to a man's waist. That thing? I _gigantic_ black and white monster bear that _loomed_ over two meters tall, it also had circular glasses dangling from one furry ear, and a drenched gin top tautly stretched over his fat shoulder.

Holy crap, he is a lot more intimidating in real life!

No, no wait, this was just the shook of the first meeting, I can see the goofiness counterbalancing the fierce aspects.

**Saotome Genma.  
Cursed Master Thief of the Anything Goes  
Level: ?**

Wait, _I can't see his level!?_

What the—I thought he was a buffoon!

"Get… _Off of me!" _Roared Ranma as he surged to his feet, flipping the half-ton pile of fur, muscle, and fat out of his back.

To my surprise, the monstrous panda seems to glide in mid-air just like Ranma does when he jumps, before landing at a distance.

"What the heck, pops!?" Ranma complained to the beast while he rolled his aching shoulders.

The panda made some feral noises; it sounded… well, it sounded like a dog trying to speak. Except it was a lot throatier… and it got a better result. I could _almost_ make out words.

"What was that pops?" Ranma cupped his ears. "Maybe if you speak louderrr!" He mocked.

The panda stomped the ground angrily, but in the end, decided to let his gestures do the talking. Suddenly, there was a pair of buckets filled with water on each of his paws, his muzzle twisting into an evil grim.

"You wouldn't dare!" Ranma challenged but hopped back with a yelp to avoid a splash of water.

"So that's your panda-dad-man." I finally found enough voice to comment. I swear; there is never a dull moment with this guy. "Why do you care if he turns you into a girl? I do have warm water, you know?"

"It's a matter of pride!"

With a bear-like roar, Genma charged at us. For some ungodly reason, he decided to target me too.

And that's how Ranma and I got chased down the street by a giant panda bear. It was an ok way to start Sunday.

-0-0-0-

I almost regret not staying behind and invite myself over for breakfast. Seeing the iconic scenery I've seen some many times during my childhood, and much more in the form of hidden details the camera never showed, would have been a nice experience.

Still, knowing the setting I was now part of, I thought it would be wiser to give this kind of information to Ranma and Ranma alone.

Plus, her face right now… _priceless._

"You serious!?" Exclaimed the redhead with mouth hanging open, her large blue eyes taking more space than they normally did. Her expression was a mixture of shook, incredulity, and a growing spark of hope.

"Did you know you have a tinge of purple around the top of your eyes that looks remarkable like makeup?—"

"You're not bullshittin' me, right Hiroshi!? I gonna be furious if you're bullshittin' me!"

"I'm not bullshitting you! Stop fucking shaking me!"

Why it's alway with the shaking!?

She_ finally_ released me, and I stumbled back, bumping against the rail of the intersectional sidewalk we stopped by. Not that the place made any real difference; there was no one around at these hours.

Ranma looked at her trembling hands, her fingers closing as her mind worked on what I told her. "I'm gonna be a man." She murmured.

"I'M GONNA BE A MAN!" She burst out, throwing her fist to the sky. "YEAHHHH!" She shouted so loudly that some dogs on a nearby alleyway began to bark.

I winced at the unexpected shrill sound but smiled just the same. Normally, I would totally be leering her bountiful chest that was currently laid poorly hidden under a loose fabric of a drenched gi, but no… I don't feel like it right now.

"Hey, hey, I said they would _have a look_ at your curse." I insisted once Ranma settle down a little, though 'a little' was a bit up to discussion. Better to make things clear and not give her any wrong ideas. "I don't know if they gonna be able to cure it."

Shiori did say whoever she gonna call was among the best in the country, but I decided to omit that so Ranma wouldn't create even more expectation than what she already has. I was trying to keep my own expectations in check too; this is a Jusenkyo curse we're talking about, if I knew this setting right, there is probably a zany catch to it all, or fate itself would make something happen for the cure to not work.

But even beyond my meta-knowledge, I didn't think a 4.000+-year-old magical curse will be cured by drinking the right mixture of tea or something like that. Got to be prepared for the worst, and the insane.

"Still!" Ranma beamed, slowing down her honest to god spin. "It's the close I ever got since China! I didn't think I'd…" She stopped, finally clicking her feet on solid ground.

Then I got to witness one of the most sincere smiles I saw on a person.

"Thanks, Hiroshi. I appreciate it."

I'm a man, an adult manchild with an adequate-enough social experience, so I most certainly didn't blush for being put on the spot by my friend who was currently in the form of a hot redhead at her most beautiful. No sir, it was barely a flush.

Letting out a slow breath, I finally answered. "No problem, man, anytime."

Twas enough.

"HAH!" Ranma suddenly screamed at my face.

"The fuck!?" I cursed, stumbling back again.

The redhead looked at me with pure determination in her eyes. She placed her hand on her hips and pushed her busty chest up, which produced a rather interesting motion. "Alright, hit me!"

I raised my eyebrow and indulged her.

"Not this way!" She shouted quickly as she ducked under my punch. "But good one. Would have done the same. Serious now, what's the catch?"

I can't say I blame her for thinking this way. I even expected that, in fact.

"This was a boon; I got it after killing a devil cow and saving a little girl. I just told you that." I'd given her an abridged version of what had happened before getting to the main point. I don't know how much she believed, of course, it sounded pretty unbelievable to me even while I was telling the tale, though she didn't vocalize her doubts if she had any. "The catch had already been paid as far as I am concerned, so, unless. the cure involves some unrelated thing we must do, I say there isn't any."

"That's not how things work!" Ranma made a complicated expression, as if trying to work out the contexts. "' Right. So what can I do for you?"

"Excuse me."

"To repay you! What can I do to repay you!?" She repeated.

I… thought about that for a second. I'd asked for a cure for Ranma on a whim, not expecting anything for it, it just seems like one of those things you obviously do.

But at the same time, I tried to see things from Ranma's perspective. His curse wasn't a big deal for me, but it was a _very_ big deal for him, having someone just come and offer a cure just out the goodness of their heart might seem too good to be true, especially when we consider the life she had, and the people she usually interacts. Plus, having someone just come and shower you with good things just because they like you is really embarrassed sometimes, like you don't deserve it. I experienced that a few times in my old life.

"Just to be clear, this really is a case where I expect nothing in return, believe it or not." Ranma frowned a little at that, but I raise a hand before she could complain. "But there is something you can do for me."

"Anything!" She said firmly.

Time to make this official, I guess.

"Teach me martial arts."

"Eh." She blinked; the slightly purple tinge around her eyelids really looks like makeup. I wonder how I never noticed that before. "But I was doing that already!"

"Yeah, I kinda ask for some tips and hints before, so I assumed that's what you were doing. Still, I think it's time to stop beating around the bush." I did a formal bow almost subconsciously, honoring my Japanese side. "Ranma-shishou, please teach me!"

I admit I was partially messing with her in that last bit.

My reward was a strangled squeak that sounded so, _so_ good coming from Ranma-chan's sexy voice, "S-Shishou!?" She gasped but quickly recovered her composure. "Y-Yosh! If you really want that I got no choice! I'mma teach you!" She actually sounds really fired up about that. "And stop bowin'! It's weirdin' me out!"

The good Japanese boi cried within me as I straightened my back.

"Alright! Show me what you got!" Ranma demanded immediately.

I tilted my head at that. "Sorry?"

"I taught you some foundations before, show me!"

"Ah." I scratched my cheek, were going to jump right into it? Ah well

Now, I remember the forms almost perfectly, my memory has gotten better due to the Int points, but he'd taught me that, what? Three days ago? I did the exercise… once when he wasn't around, and I forgot to do it today due to the whole Minon thing. Shit, now I feel a little embarrassed.

"The thing is…" Don't want to admit it, avoid! Avoid! "Come on, man, you taught me that three days ago."

"That's more than enough time to get it perfectly!" Ranma chirped.

… Is it? I mean, I never really dabbled in martial arts before, but to do it _perfectly_ after three days feels kind of…

It occurred to me then that _Saotome Ranma_ might have some skewed perspective about how ordinary people progress in martial art.

"Come on!" She insisted.

I sighed, deciding to bit the bullet. I walk a few steps forwards to have some space and mentally prepared to have Ranma insult my form. Then, I started.

There were seven forms, or kata, that Ranma showed me, she… though I suppose it was he at the time, told me to practice the first three. I remember how the looked like but I never couldn't fully…

…

I did it.

After a pause, I did it again.

Before, it was practically impossible to keep my balance, but now it was no more difficult than balancing my next step. Transitions that felt awkward and stiff were now smooth and fluid. Stretches that seemed impossible before now were very much within the range of possibilities.

_How! _

How is this happening!?

I had no… I didn't try… I didn't even practice that! How are they coming out so easily!?

…My stats! That was the only explanation; I had 30 points more in each of my physical stats, 10 points more in my dexterity.

Only that, already made this much difference?

Somewhere along the way, I stopped. Putting my two feet on the ground and changing stances. I heard Ranma protesting behind me, but I _had_ to try it.

It was harder to do it from my memories because I only had pictures and text for reference, not the moving demonstration Ranma had shown me.

Wing Chun; fast punches and palm strikes, frequent hips movement, low kicks focusing on sweeps.

Karate; efficient movements, synchrony of punches always with one arm free for defense, numerous kicks.

Jeet Kune Do; an explosion of fast movement in all directions with a focus on keeping balance and using a move to prop the next one.

Bājíquán; full-body movements with your full weight behind it, numerous short-ranged but explosive attacks.

Muay thai;—

I felt a bump in my lower back.

"It's too straight. You have to bend this part a little." Ranma commented. She then easily slipped into the Muay Thai stance I was trying to imitate. "Like this. See?"

And so we continued. I went through the extensive collection of forms and poses I've absorbed, and Ranma accompanied me the whole time giving me pointers about the styles she learned herself or fought against before, which turn out to be all of them, no surprise there, I got the training manuals for a public bookshop; they are not exactly niche.

It was just a demonstration of each style, a fraction of what I had in my head. By the end, I had a small layer of sweat over my skin, and my breathing was heavy. But it was so damn satisfying.

"So?" I asked Ranma. Technically I went against his order, but I wanted her opinion.

"That was very weird." She said instantly.

Ok… that wasn't the repose I was expecting.

"Where did you learn all of that?" Ranma asked.

I hesitated briefly but decided that honesty was the best route.

"I can memorize books, like, right down to every letter. I memorized a lot of martial arts instruction manuals."

"Manuals." Ranma cupped her chin. Bushing my incredible bomb, I dropped on her to the side, though maybe she was hype focused on another subject. "That might be it. I never saw somethin' like that."

"What?"

She noticed she'd spoke that out loud and moved to explain.

"Like, your heart isn't on it… No, no, that's not quite what it is… You weren't movin' with your body. Got it?" She tried.

"No."

Ranma clicked her tongue. Scratching her hair loudly. "Anyway, I ain't good with this stuff, but I know the problem! You got to practice! Like every day, all day, all the time. You might know the moves, but your body sure as hell don't!"

Wait, that actually made a little bit of sense to my fanfiction and literature experienced mind. It's muscle memory, or something similar to it. It would make sense that Ranma found it strange because my body isn't normal. If we try to imagine an average martial artist's progress: he'd go through, learning a move, failing at it, then practice again and again until you can do it… and at the same time, you have conditioned your body to be able to do it with your attempts. I imagine that I skipped a few steps at that due to my stats

"Go back to what I taught you, you can try the rest on your own, just repeat what you know until you can do it with your body too," Ranma said, stepping across from me.

"Can I use those in a fight?" I asked the most important thought that crossed my head.

That display… Before it felt like I was posing rather than doing kata, but now, with my body vastly better and Ranma's instruction fixing the small bumps, I think-

"' Course not, idiot."

Was Ranma immediate answer.

"What? Why!?" I couldn't help but it demand, I didn't whine damn it.

"Your breathin' still sucks, your balance got better but it didn't get any more solid, and you fight like a robot. Anyone with a hint of sense would be able to counter it. Hell, _you _should be able to counter it if someone came at you like that."

He's not wrong… maybe; I mean I know how to handle myself in a real fight, piles of surprisingly crafty Kappa made sure of that. There are a lot more factors to take into consideration in a real fight, and the more I thought about it, the more I saw how difficult it would be to do textbook perfect kata in the middle of that chaos.

"You can sneak a move or two if you see the opportunity, I guess, as long as your guts say so," Ranma said in a sigh after she saw how depressed I was getting. "Now, guards up! We're burning sunlight!"

Oh? Keeping the surprise of my face, I entered the first kata Ranma taught me. "Are you going to teach me the others kata?"

"Teach you the others? You barely perfected the first three! No, I'm helpin' you out with those first."

"Oh." I hummed… and then saw Ranma walk to my front, and get into an identical stance. "Ranma, what are you doing?" I said, my sense of dread steadily increasing.

She gave me a confused look, a _genuinely_ confused look. "What? You asked me to teach you, right? Well, _I'm goin' to teach you!" _

And then she blurred forward, fist raised.

Oh boy.

-0-0-0-

**Skill created: Martial Arts Mastery, lvl 01.  
**_**Gives intuitive grasps about how to fight using a general ability on martial art without focusing on any particular styles, increases the damage of unarmed attacks. **_

**Skill created through special action: Anything Goes Style Mastery, lvl 01  
**_**Gives intuitive grasps about how to fight using the Anything Goes style of martial art, increases the damage of unarmed attacks. **_

I cracked open the eyes and finally read the two skills I'd got some time during the beat down.

"Humm? It only seems to be a few light bruises. Are you sure you got it right, Ranma-kun?"

"What?... The heck! He's totally fine now! What gives!?"

At my side was the now male Ranma, and the man I recognized as doctor Tofu even without the nametag and surprisingly high level of 48 informing me of this fact.

My eyes quickly went back to my skills.

It was a literal world pain to get these two.

Very much worth it, though.

-0-0-0-

"Your body's freakish."

Was Ranma's comment about the fact I could go from 'purple and unconscious' to 'utter immaculate' in about half an hour.

"Oh, the irony," I said to the guy who could change sex under cold water.

"It's so unfair! Do you know how much could train if I had this recovery rate!?"

"Don't talk to me about unfairness, mister I-learned-with-a-freaking-glance."

Yes, it seems my early ascertainment of Ranma knowing or having fought against most of the styles I displayed was wrong. There were indeed some styles he knew or fought against, but most, as I came to find out, he wasn't familiar with. What he did then was copy what I did and then deduced, yes freaking _deduced, _the right way to move from that. Most annoying of it all was that he was right on the money in all his conclusions and could move much better than me in anything he tried.

Annoying martial art genius.

"Alright," Ranma crossed his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner, apparently accepting and moving on from the fact I could bounce back from utter exhaustion in a few minutes. "What's next?"

We had maintained a lazy, but steady pace ever since we left Doc Tofu's clinic, it didn't take much time for me to reorient myself and pick a direction. Ranma had changed into one of the extras outfits we keep within the storage; a habit created from multiple encounters with cloth-dissolving slimes.

It was around noon now, meaning we'd spent the better part of the morning beating my new martial skills into my body. Ranma had continued to follow me even after he declared training done, signifying that we would hang out today, apparently.

"I'm gonna see to the reason I left home in the first place." My inventory screen popped up on my side and let my mangled baseball bat fall into my hand. "Repair this."

Ranma whistled as he inspected the damage, he gestured for me to pass it to him and tried out a few swings.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad." He concluded. "How the heck did it get like that in the first place?"

"My tussle with the minotaur. Weren't you listening?"

"Oh yeah, your little adventure. One where you literally beat up a monster and saved a princess… and you didn't even bother to call me in."

Is he salty? Oh god, he is salty.

"I'll make sure to call you next time I see a horrible monster attacking the innocent. I'll put up a Ranma signal in the clouds or something."

"What?" The comic books illiterate frowned. "How's that even work?"

"Nothing. Just, I'll try to not keep you out of the fun next time." If I have the choice, at least. "Anyway, do you know any repair shops or something like that in the area."

"Nah man, still gettin' the feelin' of the place myself."

"Figure that'd be the case." I turned around the streets and easily jumped over a flight of stairs to get across an open alley. By that point, Ranma wasn't even bothering with solid ground anymore; he was walking over the edge of everything. "I have a friend that lives the area. She might know something about it."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at the prospect of me having other friends, something that I found slightly offensive. It's not my fault I don't look like the most approachable guy at the school, that's the Japanese preconception working against me. I'm a pretty friendly guy, damn it!

"If you say so." He said and then looked ahead. He continued looking at that direction as he spoke again. "Hiroshi, not to alarm you or anything, but there is this person following us for a while."

"Ah."

Now, how to explain my taimanin to Ranma? I suppose it would be better if she had agreed to accompany me, like, actually accompany me, not stalking behind like she is now. I could have introduced the two face to face then. But she'd insisted that it was not proper and that she should act like 'someone of her station'. I would have called bullshit on that, but I noticed that she really, _really_ got off from this whole kunoichi and retainer act.

I could just call her now and present her to Ranma, but I decided to respect her choice… Alright, I want her to get off from this as much as she can, so she'd be hot and bothered by the end of the day. More chance of a repeated lovemaking marathon this way.

So instead, what I said was.

"It's just my ninja. I saved her life a while back so she swore loyalty to me. I can introduce you if you like."

"Wait, you saved a ninja's life and what!" Ranma squatted down, looking at me. "Hiroshi, what have you not been tellin' me?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "That, and the Minotaur busting are the biggest things that happened to me since I got to town."

Ranma stared down at me. He stared at me until it became genuinely uncomfortable. Then he let out a laughing breath.

"Damn, and here I thought I had the weird life."

I grinned at that. "Give it time; I'm sure you'll surpass me someday soon. Would you like me to introduce you to her or not?"

"Pass. Every ninja I ever met was a weirdo. I don't see how this one would be any different."

Well, he's… not wrong.

That turned into a conversation about the ninjas Ranma personally met. Apparently, there were three, and he trained ninjutsu under all of them for a time. I'm reasonably sure the last one was a taimanin, but I couldn't be totally certain of that because I didn't know if taimanin were the only bodysuit-wearing ninjas around.

We're on a discussion about how ninjutsu related to the Saotome branch of Anything goes when we got to a familiar street and approached a familiar house.

I smiled when I saw her; she was in the garage, humming a song while she cleaned the sports car there. It was incredible how she made the combination of overalls and a striped shirt look like something right out of a fashion magazine.

"Hey, Tenou-san!" I singsonged.

She looked up, her brief look of confusion turning into a bright smile.

"Ōe-sempai, good morning!" Said my frequent jogging partner.

Well, jogging is a bit of a stretch. Tenou-san just seems to like going to school at ungodly early hours, and as her route is the same as my jogging route, we bump into each other almost every day.

There is something different today, though.

"Wait, sempai?"

"You are my upperclassman, aren't you? Even if you are from another school."

I hummed, placing my baseball bat on my shoulders and then gestured behind me.

"This is my friend Saotome Ranma. Ranma this is Tenou Haruka."

"Ossu." Ranma greeted casually. "Nice car, do you drive?" He said, making conversation.

"Only on my dad's race track," Tenou-san answered with an underlined laughter. "Nice to meet you, Saotome-sempai."

While Ranma was rubbing the back of his head, a little embarrassed for being called in such formal manner, I continued.

"So Tenou-san-" "Anyway Ōe-sem-"

I started talking but stopped when or our words bumped together.

"My bad-" "Sorry-"

We paused again; this time, Ranma let out a snort.

I slapped him on the shoulder but mostly ignored him. And then I said.

"It's ok. You can go first—"

I was interrupted again, not by Tenou-san this time, but by the door connecting the house and the garage opening.

"Haruka-chan, would you mind going out to buy some groceries? We are missing a few- Ara?"

The person who walked in was an attractive middle-aged woman with brown hair, slender body, and a gentle face. She shared eye colors with Haruka, but few features beyond that, just enough that it would be undeniable that they were related. She was wearing a simple pair of pants and a sweater shirt. Her eyes widened for seeing us there.

Then she clapped her hands in front of her face, her slightly gaping mouth morphing into a smile.

"Oh my! Oh my, oh my~"

"Oh no…" I caught Haruka's murmur.

"Ahh~ to think little Haruka-chan would already be in the age to bring her boyfriends home. My, my, time sure seems to fly~."

I blinked, did she just… I looked at Ranma at the same time he looked at me, his face similarly shocked.

Did she just implied that we're Tenou-san's boyfriends, _both_ of us!?

"_Mom!_ Please don't!" Pleaded the mortified daughter, scrambling to get to her mother. But she tripped on the cleaning cloth she had dropped on the first step.

"So you are following your father's path after all. He was quite the stud back at in the day, kinda the playboy too. Mama never thought she would end up with the neighborhood's bad boy who dated multiples girls at once, but that's the wonder of life~."

"MOM!" Tenou-san got to her, putting her taller body in front of her as if to block our vision of her mother form us. Or maybe the other way around. "Please, _please_ stop talking."

"But Haruka-chan, you shouldn't hide your boyfriends like that. I'd love to meet them!"

She not even speaking in English, where the word could be interpreted as boy friends. She is using Koibito in a plural sense. She honestly seems to believe we were her daughter's lovers and apparently was quite enthusiast about the prospect.

Another eccentric milf, great…

At least this one didn't have enormous tits, though I don't know if that counted as an improvement.

"Mom, can you go back inside, please."

"Now, now Haruka-chan, it would be rude to your boyfriends, you should invite them in too."

"No, mom you don't understand it's-

"That's no way to treat your _boyfriends, _you know."

Well, she is… quite insistent.

"Mom, can you please listen!"

"I just _knew_ you would surprise your like that someday, I always told your father—"

"THEY'RE NOT MY BOYFRIENDS!"

That brought silence to the garage. A fairly… heavy silence that caught me by surprise.

I didn't notice the change in the atmosphere, but now it was obvious.

"I… I gonna leave for a bit. Be back later." Tenou-san declared eventually, turning her back to her hurt-looking mother and promptly exiting the garage.

We stood there with Tenou-san's mother for a few seconds.

Looking to disperse the awkward air, I promptly bowed, introducing myself, and bid her a respectful goodbye. Ranma made an effort to imitate me.

We caught up with Tenou-san's a few blocks down the street.

"I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry for leaving like that." She said without facing us.

Do you need to talk about that? My first instinct was to say that. But it wasn't the time for it. Maybe if we were alone, or if we knew each other for longer, I could ask that, but now it felt like the wrong thing to say.

Surprisingly, it was Ranma who found the next route out.

He shrugged even though she wouldn't be able to see it, and casually spoke.

"Weird parents, am I right? Mine steal my food in the name of training."

I couldn't help but smile at that. "Mine once put an actual horse in my room while I was sleeping as a birthday present," I added. Fishing a weird childhood memory from my Ōe side.

"Wait, seriously! And then what happened?" Ranma asked.

"It shat on my bed. I woke up screaming."

It shat on the carpet, actually, but this way was funnier.

We saw Tenou-san's shoulders hitch in a sudden snort.

"No way that happened." The girl commented, looking back a little.

"It did. Caroline now lives happily in one of my family's ranches."

"_One _of your family's ranches?" Ranma commented with a disbelieving eyebrow up.

"One day, Ranma, you will discover that everything I said about my family's wealth is true, and I'mma slip a gold bar into your gaping mouth."

Tenou-san laughed a burst of hefty, full belly laughter with a lot of pig-like snort and giggles that completely broke her cool image.

It made her infinitely cooler in my eyes.

"Thanks." She said, facing us. "I'm ok now. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"This." I showed her my bat, "I want to repair it. Do you know any repair shops or any mechanic who can help me with that."

Tenou-san blinked, then she cupped her chin as if she suddenly remembered something. "Repair… I swear I heard something…" She murmured.

Her reaction was strange, to say the least.

"Tenou-san?"

"Ah." She gasped in surprise, meeting my eyes with a blinking look. "Repairs shops, right? No problem. I'll take you there even. It's not like I don't have time now.

"Sounds good."

And with that, we set off, walking on a steady pace across the familiar streets.

"So, what did _you_ want to tell me?" I asked Tenou-san while we walked.

"Hum?" She yanked her incredulous eyes from the sight of Ranma casually strolling atop a thin fence. "Oh, right, what are you going to do about Kuno?"

"What was that about Kuno?" And we suddenly had Ranma's attention.

Ah, that Kodachi thing. Frankly, it slipped my mind.

I open my mouth to make an excuse, but what was the point of that? Better to be honest.

"Sorry, this matter had slipped my mind completely, I had a busy last couple of days."

Tenou-san frowned. "Well, I don't think you can ignore it anymore. St. Hebereke and _Furinkan High_ got a Rhythmic Gymnastics match scheduled for two weeks."

"Kay… and that relates to Kuno, how?" Ranma asked.

"We're talking about his little sister," I explained.

"Oh."

Still, knowing what I knew about Kuno Kodachi, and what usually happens to her opponents.

"This is bad."

Tenou-san nodded. "She will definitely target the girls of your team. Try to take them out before the competition." She vocalized more to Ranma's sake than mine.

To be honest, I kinda wanted to wait for the canon's events. Ranma had managed to deal with her well enough there, and it had apparently no negative, long-term consequences cause by a spiteful rich girl throwing her weight around, so it sounded like a success in my book. Sure, Ranma got a crazy suitor for his trouble, but nothing goes perfectly in that series.

But this isn't a series anymore. If I remember correctly, Akane and Ranma got involved because the Furinkan Gymnastics team asked her to… because they were too injured to participate in the match.

Some girls are going to be attacked and hurt. I will not let this stand.

"Well, Ranma. Looks like we got a busy school week ahead of us."

"Ehhhhh." He grumbled.

Oh yeah, motherfucker, if I have to stand guard and wait for an ambush of a crazy Kuno, then I'm taking my tank with me.

Plus, it was he who said he wanted to be part of my adventures, so he just no right to complain!

-0-0-0-

The looming threat of Kuno Kodachi would have to wait, however.

I had business to take care of first.

"Sorry, kid, nothing I can do for' ya."

My shoulders dropped in defeat. "Are you sure?"

The repairman, or mechanic, or whatever, didn't pay attention to the plate in the front of the store, nodded "If Ah put it in the machine, it'll snap. Hell, Ah'd say it'll snap if you whack somethin' hard 'nough. Sorry kid, at this point, it's better to melt it and use for somethin' else. You should get another."

I sighed. Pretty much what all the other stores had told me. Looks like my baseball bat really was condemned.

I knew I was being a suborn fuck; I had more than enough resources to buy me another bat, hell, I could buy ten of them with better quality, but… it was _my_ bat.

I know we didn't spend a lifetime together or anything like that, but it was with it that I achieved my first triumph in this world. It was with it that I broke the faces, torsos, and limbs of countless kappa in my way to level-ups. It was with me when I almost died, and when I rose back to my feet and used it to conquer my greatest enemy to date.

It feels wrong to just brush it aside like that.

Sighing again, I collected my lump of aluminum and walked out of the store. Pushing it back inside my inventory once I was out of sight.

I've got to move on; I knew that. A weapon, a proper weapon, would vastly increase my chances of survival. So I needed to stop brooding and get over the bat.

Though for today, I decided to use my teenage card and be a broody prick about it. Well, not exactly broody, but enough to push the problems to the future and focusing on the present.

**Level up!**

What? – Oh, hey. It seems my investment's paying off. A brief glance showed that my exp bar still slowly crawling in a new, empty space, and I hadn't even done any quest today.

That brought a smile to my lips as I walked three blocks down the commercial street and entered the dark, flashy confines of a 90's arcade.

All colors of the rainbow flashed around me in pings and glow. The mechanical, cheerful noises of video-game music and character lines filled my ears. People pushed around me, talking and laughing and stuffing their mouth with the well-too-grimy stuff from the cafeteria in the corner. Despite all these factors that it was easy to find Ranma and Tenou-san, the martial artist's screams of frustration were pretty loud.

"Come on! Move it! Ah! I _pressed the button_! Why didn't he move! Arggg! Blasted thing."

Tenou-san, for her part, was laughing at his woes.

They were both sitting at the end of a row of booth-like machines that faced each other. Like every other machine in this place, it offered background music and cheese character lines to join the electronic orchestra of the establishment.

"So, who's winning?" I asked, leaning on the machines from the side, where I could see both of their screens with a simple tilt.

"Shut up, Hiroshi. I'm trying to focus!" Ranma complained, answering my question while he did so.

Tenou-san chuckled under her breath, "what's wrong, sempai? Weren't you bragging about your martial artist reflexes just a while ago?" She teased.

"Oh, I'll show you! Just wait!"

The game they're playing was a rather uncanny machine titled 'Street Combat II'. And that name told everything there is to know about it.

The pixelated characters on the screen looked like something Capcom would sue over. I watched as the blonde-haired, Chinese dressed woman with gigantic thighs pummeled Ranma's protagonist looking character with a volley of kicks after he failed a combo that would make him shot a green fireball. In the end, she ripped his spine out from his chest with an over-the-top shower of blood.

"Arghhhh!" Ranma wailed as the words **EXECUTION** flashed on his screen. "This machine is broken!" He decided.

"Whatever let you sleep, Sempai." Tenou-san looked up at me. "So, how did it go?"

I shook my head in response.

"Oh, sorry about that." She cast a longing glance at the 'continued?' option on her screen, but then made her mind and looked up. "I know a few more places if you want to try."

She started to stand. But I put my hand on her shoulder.

"No, no, I…" Got to let it go. "I still hadn't had my turn yet. I can't possibly let this utter thrashing slide. Who would get revenge poor Ranma then?"

"Who asked you!?" Ranma jumped up and said from the top of his game. "One more! I'm getting the hang of this!"

Tenou-san got the meaning of my statement immediately, "Eh. But I already won three rounds. I should let you got at Ōe-sempai for a while. Fight the grunt before the last boss, you know?"

"I heard your provocations loud and clear my cute kohai, and I shall do the mature thing and bring divine retribution for these words… Right after I thrash this cocky martial artist."

"Oh yeah! I want to see you try!" Ranma challenged, settling down on his seat.

I drop down on mine after Tenou-san vacated it. And it was official; today was arcade day.

Being in a 90's arcade, as a teenager, in a group of friends, and with money to irresponsibly spend was an experience I'd never thought I would get to relive. And by god did I miss it.

We played every game that got into our line of sight. We talked, chit-talked, made jokes, and laughed at funny stories. We ate and drank stuff that was bad for us, and insulted each other while having epic battles on the screen of multiple fighting games, the ones that Ranma declared to be his favorites to the surprise of no one.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, the setting of Ranma 1/2 decided to worm it's head in and throws a curveball at us. Though this time it was a rather… fun, curveball.

"HAHAHA! NOT SO COCKY NOW, EH BOY!?"

If the Internet was up in the form I was familiar with; they would dub Ranma's current challenger as a human's meme. He was a very pale Asian guy with an enormous red afro, wearing a crisscrossed, colorful shirt, a jeans jacket with several patches on it, and an honest to god parachute pants covering his fast-moving legs.

Basically, he was a sight to behold.

"Ah!-Crap!-Stop!-ARGH Stupid thing!" Ranma was actually struggling to keep up with his movements, though the problem wasn't the fight itself; it was trying to match the fight with the colorful panels flashing under his feet.

"NO USE! YOUR FOSSIL-LIKE MARTIAL ARTS ARE NO MATCH FOR MY DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION COMBAT STYLE!"

Indeed. They were using the new Dance Dance Revolution machine as the arena for their bout: a Dance Dance Revolution Martial Art challenge to be precise.

And yes, it was as wonderful as it sounded.

"Oh yeah! And how about this!" Ranma then, promptly used that 'learning with a glance' bullshit he showed early today. And started to use his opponent's own movements to fight against him.

"NANI!?"

The crowd cheered around us when they saw the match turn from a one-sided beat down to a contested challenge.

"This isn't happening!" Tenou-san commented. These words might be commonly used in bad situations, but the broad smile in her face told me it was quite the contrary. She had burst out laughing quite a bit on the more uproarious moments of the fight, like Funky Joe's introduction and continuing existence. "How can this happen? People don't just challenge others out of nowhere in real life! Especially not for this!" She pointed at the dance machine. She had to speak loudly due to the cheers of the crowd. "It's like a movie!"

The machine was brand new, a novelty to the arcade goers, so it already had a pretty sizable group around it before Ranma and Funky Joe claimed it for their battle. Seeing the absolute spectacle this fight is turning out to be; it made sense that the _whole arcade_ would congregate around us.

"Martial Artists, Tenou-san, Martial Artists. They attract the bizarre with the very existence and when two meet? Yeah, anything can happen!" I smiled… well smiled more, as I explained over the noises, even though I don't think the girl had the reference to get everything.

"Haruka!"

"' Excuse me?"

"You call Ranma by his first name!" She explained through the crowd. "You can call me by my first name too!"

"Oh! Then I'm Hiroshi to you too, for now on!"

"Can do that Hiroshi-sempai-AH!" She gasped in surprise at the following event. And she wasn't the only one; the whole crowd gasped at the sight of Ranma falling.

"My leg!" He cried out.

"HAHAHA! YOU THINK YOU CAN COPY MY DANCE DANCE STYLE WITHOUT LEG CRAMPS!? _NAÏVE!"_

Ah, shit. I think Ranma might lose this one. By what I understood from the rules, dropping from the panels didn't end the fight, but it would obviously affect the end score, which was just as important as fighting the opponent. And say what you will about Funky Joe, but I don't think the guy misstep ever once, even while dodging and parrying Ranma's attacks. However, Ranma had already made some mistakes, and now he'd fallen from the panels. He would need a knock out to win this.

If he can get his leg back in order, that is.

"Oh, no." Haruka pushed past a couple of people to she could lean on the rail the arcade's staff had put it up somewhere along the way. "Ranma, don't give up! Fight on!" She cheered, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Two ganguro-looking high school girls that were making googly eyes to Haruka all afternoon caught on what she was crying out and imitated her in a bid to draw her attention. That call then spread to the fat otaku that wanted the hot girls' attention, which spread to his friends, and themsome.

In no time at all, the whole freaking place was chanting Ranma's name.

I laughed, I couldn't help myself, this whole thing was a silly teenager adventure fit for a nineties' movie, and I was loving every second of it. The sound, the noise, the energizing feeling the crowd gave out. I quickly cupped my own hand around my mouth and added my own call to encourage my rising friend.

"COME ON, RANMA! YOU CAN DO IT! BEAT HIS ASS!"

My unexpected strong lungs carried my voice a bit above the others, but it was hardly enough to disturb the overall atmosphere.

"UWOHHHHHHHHH!" Ranma roared as he rose to his feet. The crowd roared with him. They got especially loud after he jumped back on top of the panels and started moving.

"HAHAHA! IT'S USELESS NOW, BOY! YOU CAN'T— What!?" Funky Joe gasped, and he was forced to twist his body wildly to dodge Ranma's assault.

Now things were different, now Ranma wasn't only copying his movement, no, now he had unleashed the full terror that was his martial art genius. Going by what it seemed to me, he'd picked out the aspects of Funky Joe's styles that let him never miss a dance panel, and _added that to his very extensive repertoire._

He essentially mastered Dance Dance Revolution and figured would how to fight with his usual styles while doing it.

It was goddamn inspiring!

"He's going for a knockout!" I cried out, drawing Haruka's attention. With that realization in mind, she began to cheer harder.

"Wha-NO, STOP THAT, Ah, OUCH! Wait, wait! The MACHINE!" Funky Joe cried out, and credit where credit is due, he was doing an amazing job dodging Ranma's onslaught and keeping his score.

The game machine began to crack and shake under Ranma's quick steps, the violent vibrations traveling from the light panels to the main body, making the dancing images on the screen to fizzle slightly, though it wasn't enough to affect the music yet.

I don't think many people noticed, but even if they did, they were too hyped to do anything about it, exactly like me.

I cheered for Ranma. Haruka cheered at my side.

The crowd pumped their fist up, calling for the action.

The machine began to smoke.

At some point, Funky Joe realized he would have to focus his full might if he was to endure Ranma's relentless assault, and he cranked the intensity to eleven.

Eventually, however, the timer dropped to zero, and the song ended. This was at the exact same time Ranma managed to kick Joe out of his consciousness, but by then, the dance had finished.

The screen fizzed once, then twice, and then a third time. Smoke began to come out of it. The crowd grew silent, realizing only now the device might shut down without telling them the result of this epic crash.

Until…

**"Perfect!" **The game declared…

On Ranma's side of the screen.

Now, this was obviously a defect in the machine, as it was made clear by the fact it fizzled out soon after. After all, it was impossible for Ranma to get this score after so many missteps, so the only logical explanation was that Funky Joe's rating must have come out on the different side of the display.

We didn't give a flying fuck about that.

"Ranma won!" I declared loudly, and the crowd _exploded. _

The feeble rail put by the staff was soon trampled under the weight of multiple bodies trying to get to the center. They actually raised Ranma up like a rock star and began chanting his name. He honestly looked like he was having the time of his life with all the attention, and he even managed to gain a level for his effort, giving the 27 now floating under his name.

Haruka was on the side, cheering and laughing so much that there were tears in her eyes, and she had to hold her belly. The strangely emotional ride to this bizarre situation seems to break her cool-persona little.

And me? Well, I was rushing to get my two friends because that seemed like the owner of the place brushing through the crowd, and boy did he look _pissed._

-0-0-0-

"That was fun!" Ranma declared with a shit-eating grin.

We had managed to escape the wrath of the arcade owner and ran towards the other end of the commercial street. Then we processed to stuff our faces with taiyaki as lunch.

The fish-shaped treat wasn't as tasty as the funny tasting bread, and the bean bread served pretty much the same function with the added bonus of being softer, but I guess they are pretty good too. Though I kinda regret voting for them as lunch because now I can see the legendary Wc Donald at a distance; the most wide spread franchise of the anime world, and one of the places to be if you found yourself isekai'ed there.

Some other time then.

Haruka swallowed down her food to talk. "That was awesome." She said, managing to control her enthusiasm under relaxed demeanor. "You said you practiced martial arts, but I didn't know you were a master."

Ranma grin got wider. "I get that a lot." Of course he would say that.

"Heh, He is not even close to being a master," I said.

Ranma shot me a look at my correction, "And who made you a expert!?"

"Really? He's not a master? But the way they moved, it was more impressive than anything I've seen on the movies."

The martial artist groaned. "That's those kung fu movies, right? That's not martial arts, or maybe not _fighting_ martial arts, at least. It's just a big stage play!" He complained.

That seemed like the start of an exciting conversation, but unfortunately, we were interrupted.

None of us was paying attention to where the guy had come from. Hell, he wasn't very noticeable even with his very obvious delinquent gear and sunglasses. He was practically a burry image on the background before he approached us and began giggling creepily.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow. This was the second consecutive day I had to deal with delinquents. God, Tokyo really is flooded with them.

"You're Ōe Hiroshi, right? I got something for you." He said, his voice just as shady as he looked.

Ranma rose to his feet behind me, a wise choice, given that these words are often used as a prelude for something terrible, like an ambush or something. Got to say, having a tank to guard my back is comforting, even if I'm quite sure I could handle this level 05 delinquent on my own.

Instead of attacking, signaling for an ambush, or even activating a trap, the boy juts toss something towards me. I easily caught it. But held it away from my face in case it exploded into paralyzing poison or something.

It was… a folded paper, with a large, unmistakable kanji on the back.

"… It's that a challenge letter!?" I questioned incredulously. Ranma even relaxed on at my side, seemly deciding there was no danger. I made a note to beat pragmatist over his martial arts' ethics later, before someone uses it against him.

Raising my head to ask, I noticed that the guy was gone… Well, kinda; he was at the distance, frantically trying to run away from our sight to make it look like he had disappeared mysteriously. Catching him in the act really took away from the experience.

"An actual challenge letter!" Haruka vocalized my thoughts, though she sounded more like she was having fun than being confused. "What even _is_ this day?"

"' Least he didn't deliver through bow and arrow," Ranma remarked. It sounded from experience.

There was nothing unexpected on the content of the letter itself. In fact, it was almost aggressively straightforward: there was the formal challenge; _"Ōe Hiroshi I challenge you to a fight!" _The location; _" at Jiyuu-ji temple in the Ōizumichō district, Nerima." _The time; _"at 17:00 today!"_ even an added bonus of a consequence of refusal; _"Or your Viper pet will get it!"_

The Vipers guys _again._ Ugh, are those guys a gang or a bunch of children for me to babysit?

It was signed by Tsuji Shinnosuke, leader of the Shinnosuke group and captain of a larger gang called Ragnarok.

Hm, pretty sure I beat up some Ragnarok guys during my date yesterday. Hell, after hearing that name referring to a gang, I started getting some flashbacks.

Hadn't I wanted an anime that had a gang named like that? Or several?

Oh fuck, this is happening because of that 'debut' thing, isn't it? I must have a reputation now! Fuckkkkk.

"AH!" Haruka suddenly exclaimed from where she was reading over my shoulder.

"Jesus Christ!" I cursed. Ranma snorted at my near stumble, "Don't scream like that in my ear, woman!"

"Ōizumichō district! I remember now." The cool-looking girl ignored that and pointed at me, with an 'I got it' gesture, "I've heard strange rumors about that place lately, good rumors. Apparently, broken items and structures keep getting fixed around that area. But the people can never find who did it, even if they want to thank them."

"Sorry? Where did that come from?"

"You bat, didn't you want to fix it? You can ask whoever is fixing things there. They are doing it for free" She blinked and seemed to notice how she'd dragged the subject in a completely different direction. "Sorry, it was at the tip of my tongue all morning, I just had to let it out."

"Why do you know that anyway?" Asked Ranma.

Haruka shrugged. "I've always been one to keep my ears open for rumors. Plus, it's interesting."

"Guess so. Anyway, congratulations on your first challenge letter Hiroshi, always knew you had it in you!"

"Yeah," I said absentmindedly, my mind focusing on better things that what Ranma's meant by that.

A gang challenge at the very same place where a bunch of strange events has been happening, and these events just happen to be related to what I needed for my bat right now.

Coincidence? Yeah right, as if I'd be so lucky.

**New Quest: Fight like a man!  
**_**Tsuji Shinnosuke of Ragnarok had challenged you to a fight! Go there and teach him a lesson!... by winning the fight, not literally teaching him something.**_**  
**

**Rewards: **

**\+ 300 closeness with the Viper's gang of middle school hooligans.**

**Decreases closeness with the Ragnarok gang.**

**Increases closeness with Tsuji Shinnosuke.**

**Increases reputation within the Tokyo delinquent's scene.**

**Failure:**

**Injury.**

**Humiliation.**

**Decreases closeness with the Ragnarok gang.**

**Increases closeness with Tsuji Shinnosuke.**

**Decreases reputation within the Tokyo delinquent's scene.**

Well, at least I'll get a decent lump of exp for this...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 08

* * *

The Ōizumichō district was in an area that pushes the edge of the municipal map. The general architecture of Nerima isn't what one would think when trying to visualize a modern metropolis. The ward is predominantly composed of low buildings and rows of spacious houses, with an abundance of park and nature; however, Ōizumichō is where the city really began to turn into the country.

Scarce, full of large houses with longs stretches of lands between them, flat fields of grasslands spreading between the roads, and a number of factories decorated the landscape.

It made me wonder why this Shinnosuke guy had chosen this place for our match.

"Where exactly is this damn place!?" Ranma complained. He was probably more frustrated by the fact there was no higher fence for him to walk on than the distance.

"The Obaa-san from before said there is just on top of this road. Have some patience." Haruka responded. She was carrying a map we'd picked up in an old convenience store a while back, though it must be outdated or something cuz we still had to stop and ask for direction.

We were traversing an empty road that was leading us up and around an elevation. I'm reasonably confident we are in the right place; this feels like a location someone would build a temple on, high mounts and a patch of forest you can't go wrong with that.

"I just don't understand why choose this remote location in the first place. Delinquent aren't known for wanting their actions to stay discrete, if anything, it's the opposite." I commented, making my pondering known.

"Hm? Maybe is about territory? If they're from Nami-Ku in the south, than Ōizumichō would be the fastest way to enter Nerima without taking the metro, and maybe they can't go deeper because it would cause problems with the Nerima's gangs." Haruka offered.

It wasn't an unrealistic scenario.

"You sure do know a lot about delinquent. Are you keeping some dark secrets from us?" Ranma teased.

"Not at all." She didn't rise to the provocations. It's pretty hard to make her blush or stagger once she had her composure up. "It's only logical. Everybody knows there are gangs of delinquents everywhere, make sense that there would be some territory politics between them."

I thought about that for a second. "What even are the Nerima's gangs anyway, are the Vipers one of them?"

"Nope, they're from Nakano-Ku. They've been pushed into Nerima because they're losing territory there."

…This time, I joined in with Ranma in sending Haruka looks.

"What?" She asked, eventually.

"You… Really do know a lot about that, huh?" I said.

"Suspicious…" Ranma added.

The girl pouted just a little. "And whose fault is that! I have never even seen an actual delinquent before meeting you, senpai. Now I'm going to a challenge between them."

"Oh, don't give me that, it's not like you're not having- Hey!" I protested when the implication dawned.

Both she and Ranma began to snigger.

Goddamn Japanese and their stereotypes! Just because I like using gel on my hair, keep my shirt unbuttoned, and walk around with a dented baseball bat doesn't mean I was a delinquent! The sheer gall of these people…

On the apex of the elevation, right before the road started counting down, a set of stone steps showed itself, cutting a path through the vegetation on the side. By the stairs themselves I could tell this temple was several orders of magnitudes smaller than the Temple of the Heavenly Oni in the border of Nerima-Ku and Itabashi-Ku. That place had stairs that could easily fit four or five people side by side, and the way up was marked by multiples torii gates, but this one forced us to form a line to ascend the steps, and the only tori gate I've seen was the main one itself, which marked the entrance to the temple.

Yeah, this Jiyuu-Ji temple definitely seems more like a neighborly place of worship rather than a giant one that doubled as a tourist attraction. I can easily imagine old couples and newlyweds coming to pray and place their offering to whatever Kami it was dedicated to.

It was the size of a children's playground, with uneven stone tiles forming a rectangular platform amidst the vegetation; the main shrine looked like a small hut and was basically the only thing noteworthy in this place. Both the shrine and the tiles were showing signs of disrepair, which make sense, I doubt there was much traffic around these part nowadays with that road by the entrance. I bet this place had a lot more visitors before that had been built.

Not helping the situation was the fact there were twenty-six delinquents loitering around the place. As typical for youngsters of this particular specimen, they were leaving their usual markings of cigarette buds, dirty magazines, and food wrappings all around the place, and a disrespectful little fuck was actually drawing graffiti on the walls of the shrine, fucking, really!?

All laughter and loud conversation stopped when we appeared, turning into glares and mocking sniggers.

One of them, which were practically indistinguishable from the rest, saved maybe for the fact he was kneeling on the ground and had his arms tied to his back perked up when he saw us.

"Nii-san!" He called.

Ah, one of the Viper's guys, who was he again? He didn't look like the guy I saved yesterday… well, he did, but the guy from yesterday had glasses. And he wasn't Touji, the guy from a few days back who'd asked me to deal with Kodachi as revenge for his sister. All left was one of Touji's moral support, so he should be one of them.

The only distinctive guy was one in the back, glaring daggers at me; I would have thought he was the challenger if there wasn't for the bandages all over his body, and the cast on his arm.

Seeing no use in just standing around and glaring, I stepped in.

"I am Ōe Hiroshi, here to answer a challenge by Tsuji Shinnosuke. Is he here!?" I announced firming, making my voice bounce around the place.

"Yes!" The response was immediate, "Damn right, he is!"

Until now, all the delinquents I have seen clearly looked apart; Relaxed clothes, Gel-brushed hairs or mohawks, a tendency to walk around openly armed with blunt and slashing weapon, all aspects that very definitely marked them as what they were. But the guy who came out from behind the shrine was really pushing the stereotype.

He was taller than most gathered here, with a messy mass of black hair falling down to his back. His face was built from fierce-looking features that were locked in a confident grin. He was wearing a modified school uniform that billowed around his legs like a long coat. The only thing missing was the hat, and he would look right out of an 80's hardboiled shounen manga.

"I am Tsuji Shinnosuke!" He announces, thumping his broad chest. "I see you didn't run away, Ōe Hiroshi. Excellent! "

**Tsuji Shinnosuke  
Leader of the Tsuji troops, third Captain of Ragnarok.  
Level: 15.**

Well then, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary...

I think I can take him.

"You know, it's not every day I react to a single incident like that." He drops down from the shrine's steps to the solid ground. "But to send three of my new recruits to the hospital like that..." He shook his head. "No, that can't go unpunished."

Then he dramatically pointed a finger at me. "Ōe Hiroshi, The Dandy Fist! You will pay for raising your hand against the Tsuji troops!"

…

… I felt something die a little inside me, especially with the sniggering now coming from behind.

"I'm sorry, _what _did you call me!?"

Tsuji Shinnosuke continued to point and glare for a few seconds before his finger twitched downwards a bit and he spoke to the guy on his side with the edge of his mouth.

"Oi, Kenji!"

The bandaged man, who was still looking as if he wanted to stab me with his eyes, momentarily jerked in surprise at being called.

"Yes, boss!"

"You said he used his fists, right?"

""Yeah, boss."

"Then how come is he using a bat now!?"

"… Sorry boss."

"Grrr! Look at what you made me do!"

"Sorry, boss. I'll do better, boss."

After this brief but unbelievable retarded exchange, Shinnosuke cleaned his throat.

"Sorry 'bout that." He said, and then promptly pointed his finger again, his dramatic atmosphere returning as if it never left. "Ōe Hiroshi, The Dandy Bat! You will pay for raising your hand against the Tsuji troops!"

H-he… he actually called me that! And it was even worse now! Seriously where the hell did that come from!? Who came up with this name!?

"Dandy bat."

"Dandy bat!

"… Dandy bat."

Great, now his fucking underlings are repeating this ridiculous title all serious-like. And it's even worse cuz they aren't using Japanese to speak, no the fuckers decided to use English, and they're really fucking bad at English, so the end result was that horrible and comical accent that made it sound like—

"Dandii battō…" That last one came from behind me.

"Oh, shut up!" I snarled at Ranma. The motherfucker was barely containing his laugher.

"Alright, first of all!" I began loudly, pointing my bent baseball bat at my challenger. "Why do you need a hostage? I'm right here, right? You don't need him to drawn me here anymore, or whatever. Let him go!"

I was expecting him to would mock this proposal, but surprisingly, he gestured with his head to a guy, who promptly crouch down to cut the Viper kid's biding.

The kid immediately ran towards me.

"Nii-san! I'm so sorry!" He said.

"It's alright."

"No! I… I told them where they could find you!" He confessed with actual tears gathering in his eyes.

"It told you it's ok, just leave it to me." Fucking kids and their messes.

"Nii-san, thank you! I'll not forget this!" He declared, and bolted down the stairs, leaving the area.

… Did he seriously just do that?

"Rude," Ranma commented casually, I got a feeling he's enjoying this.

"Quite so. He could at least have stayed for the fight." Haruka added the obvious.

Whatever, he only part of the reason I came here. The other part was to keep Ranma from pestering me about chicken out from my first challenge. Another was to earn that sweet, sweet exp from the quest. And the last part, was because I simply wanted to: fighting had become quite therapeutic for me lately, no surprise there, considering I've been fighting something or another practically every day since I woke up as Ōe Hiroshi, so either I'd grow sick of it by now, or I'd learn to enjoy it.

"And second of all!" I raised my voice at the same time Shinnosuke opened his mouth, interrupting what he had to say. I didn't care; I had to know this, "The reason for this fight is because I beat up some of your guys yesterday, right? I want to know if you endorse their actions, trying to break a guy's leg like that."

This will serve as a lighting explanation as to the reason for all of this to Haruka and Ranma behind me… and really pissed the bandaged guy off… in fact, he looks rather panicked now.

Shinnosuke, however… Frowned. He frowned _deeply _at my question.

"Is that why you attacked my men? Fool! Don't you know wounds are inevitable in a fight between man!?"

On that's rich. "A fight between men!? He was already defeated, and was crawling on the ground _pleading _your men to not fucking cripple him!" I counted. Feeling my temper rising.

Oh yeah, the bandaged guy looked _really_ agitated now, there is even some glances cast in his direction by the other. Had he not told them the full story, maybe?

"As if one of the Tsuji troops sink so low!" Ah, that confirms it; he is being played. "You going to pay for insulting our honor!"

This time though, it wasn't an empty threat; it was his battle cry as he rushed towards me.

I let my mana wash around my baseball bat, forming an aura-like cover to hold it together, giving it a slight blue-ish glow to its reflective surface. Then, I stepped in and struck at his incoming punch.

However, he quickly tilted his fist to the side, letting the weapon slide across his arm while he stepped into my guard in an attempt to grapple me. I slammed my body against him to interrupt his actions and threw out my elbow at his face, forcing a state of extremely close combat. He had to lean into it to avoid most of the force, and the move made the low kick he threw lose strength and fail to sweep my legs from under me.

Our movements had created a space between us and allowed me to maneuver my bat in a less awkward manner, which resulted in it coming crashing down on his shoulder just as a knee surprised me by impacting my gut.

We both stumbled backward, raising more distance between us. The hit had taken my wind for a bit, but it was nothing too damaging.

"Hey, you can leave if you're uncomfortable." I heard Ranma's voice talking in a low tone.

"N-No, I'll stay." Was Haruka's answer.

As much as I wanted to look back and see what this was all about, taking my eyes out of my opponent when the fight already started was stupid.

"Hahaha!" Shinnosuke laughed while he rolled his shoulders. All traces of his anger fading from his expression. "You're strong… Yes, I decided!" Once again, he dramatically pointed at me. "If I win this fight, you will join my troop!"

"What kind of anime bullshit is this?" I groaned out loud, resting my bat on my shoulder.

Thinking about the impressions I'm having of this guy. I bet that even if I refuse, he will insist on it. So I might as well benefit from this arrangement.

"Urg, fine. But if I win then…"

… Now what to ask of them? They don't have anything I want, and I don't really have anything I want them to do. Right as I was organizing my thoughts, I stepped on a bag of chips that had been discarded on the ground.

Oh yeah, delinquent leave trails behind…

Eh, might as well mess with them.

"If I win, you and your troop will clean this place up!"

There was a palpable silence following my declaration. A palpable feeling of shock and disbelief spread across on the delinquent side, while my own side had met my statement with snorts and facepalms.

"W-What!?" Shinnosuke exclaimed incredulously.

"You heard me. You and your friend made a mess around here. Do you have any idea how disrespectful this is! This is a place of worship for Christ's sake!" I was never, and will never be, the most religious guy in the world, and my new reality had kinda throw my catholic beliefs in a loop, but I would still be angry if I see a butch of low lives vandalizing a church. In my old life, this would warrant a quick call to the police, in this new one, however, a good ol' bat to the face would do the job.

"And not only that! But you will come back in these following days and actively _repair_ this shrine. I want to see a weedless grounds, clean tiles, and brand new wood you heard me!? I want this place _spotless!"_ I added totally because I could.

_"Are you an old lady or something!?"_ Shinnosuke screamed.

"Hey, fuck you! Just trying to put your lazy asses to work on the betterment of our community. God's know your lot've been slacking off." The Japanese in me nodded proudly at these words.

The delinquent leader shook his head in disbelieve, wildly shaking his mop-like hair in the process. "Arg! Fine! Whatever I don't plan to lose!"

"They never do." I sighed in mock pity.

"Shaddup and fight!" Shinnosuke shouted, throwing himself back into the fight.

Once again, he pressed for extremely close range, probably in an attempt to keep me from using my baseball bat. Usually, I'd step back and work to do just that, using my weapon and longer reach to my advantage, but as I considered what to do, another stream of ideas formed in my head, ways to fight using my bat whole's length that I never thought up before, ways to use them even in very close range.

I had experienced something similar in relation to my overall fighting style when I gain the Brawling Mastery skill. So I knew this was my Club Mastery skill at work.

My hand slid over the handle to about the midway dent, quickly using the handle to strike against his face. At his sudden disorientation, I step forwards, making his chest bounce heavily against mine and delivered three more strikes across his torso with my bat. However, it quickly became clear I was holding back way too much because he soon found his footing and locked the arm that was swinging my bat under his armpit. I least out with my other hand immediately, punching his face with a swift jab. But he surprised me again by meeting my punch with a headbutt, making me hiss as the nerves of my arms flared in pain.

He processed to assault me with his free hand and knee. The knee was easy to block by raising my own leg to intercept it, while the hand was dealt with by using my already recovered arm to block it.

He blinked in shook at my speedy recovery, and I use this opportunity to plant a fist right between his eyes. Finally making him let go of my arm.

Let this be said about Tsuji Shinnosuke; the guy isn't weak.

He clearly knew how to fight and had experience doing so. He was crafty, not in the way that actually thinks things through, but in a way that let him react to his best instincts in an instant. He was fast, agile, could hit like a fucking truck, and could take hits like a champ. His highly aggressive fighting style also keeps me on my toes and forced me to react rather than think and consider. He would have been a formidable opponent for me if we had fought a short few days ago.

But that's the thing: _a few days ago_.

Now I had experienced first hand a fight to the death against a monster that could pulverize my bones with a single hit. Now I had 30 plus points on most of my physical stats, bringing my bodily strength to comfortably sit at superhuman levels. Now I had experienced what a real martial artist can do in the form of the merciless beating Ranma calls 'training'.

Frankly, if I had to rate Shinnosuke right now, I'd said he seats a bit higher than the highest level Kappa I ever fought, and the kappas had the advantage that they were actively gunning to kill me.

A few minutes into the fight, and it became clear who was the superior fighter, and who would win. And it seems my opponent was getting _pissed_ at this realization.

"Stop doing that!" He growled between attacks as I battled his swing to the side and countered by taking a bat to his face. He barely managed to lean out and let it brush his shaggy hair.

Sweat flew from his brow as he pressed his assault.

"Stop!" He said as I pummeled his guard until he kicked me away.

"Stop! Guhg!" He said while he momentarily managed to grapple me, forcing me to bring my fists down on both sides of his torso at the same time.

"Damn it, stop!" He shouted while I used my superior strength to squash his attempt to break my balance and threw him to the ground.

"STOP!" He screams while I met his fury of assaults with my own. "HOLDING BACK!"

Eh?

One of his punches slipped through and struck me square on the cheek, the impact itself hit harder than the pain as my head was thrown to the side, and my body momentarily went limp.

However, I managed to jam my bat on the ground to stop the momentum while my body lashed out a high kick aiming backward almost unconsciously.

My sneaker-covered foot rasped against his hurried-raised guard, making his arms buck and forcing him to step back.

"See!" He exclaimed accusatorially, "You're holding back on me, bastard! You shouldn't hold back in a fight between men!"

I placed my bat on my shoulder while my fingers rubbed my jaw to see if there was anything broken. It was not the worst pain I ever experienced, but it was unpleasant.

Still, it seems I've gotten the wrong impression from my opponent. I had only myself to blame for that one.

"So, you want me to put my back into it?" I provoked.

"Bastard…" He growled, his hands clenching into trembling fists, "Are you mocking my manly spirit!?"

Then, for some ungodly reason, he ripped his top off, revealing his muscular torso to the world like he was a Yakuza game's boss or something.

"Are you sure? I might actually kill you." I said, ignoring the fact he went half-naked all of the sudden.

I was fairly confident that he can take it, I had been trying out my hits on him for the last fifteen minutes or so. If there was anything I could say about him was that he was tough.

His face twisted into a grim. "Heh, cocky bastard, let's see how you deal with _this!" _

He rushed in with his arms to the side and guard free, almost as if he was provoking me to attack him.

And he was, it was obvious he was planning to do something. Maybe duck under the next swing, or somehow use it to try and take my bat out of my hand; it wouldn't be the first time he attempted.

Whatever he was trying to do, he didn't expect me to actively step _into_ his lunge displaying a level of speed I've been keeping to myself. My hands tightened around the handle of my baseball bat in preparation.

Just like he wanted, I was putting my back into it.

_"HORA!"_

My bat impacted his front with a loud, meaty sound, his body not deterring my swing in any way. The delinquent leader was sent flying backward, the heels of his feet literally skidding across the ground. To my surprise, he didn't fall outright when he finally stopped.

He actually managed to stay standing.

"Heh! How's that." He mocked cockily.

A second later, his arms flopped limply to his sides. The trembling limbs now spotting deep, red marks on his forearms.

Ah, he managed to defend it… but it looks like both his arms are broken now, or at least fractured. I don't think he can continue on like this.

"Fight's over." I declared.

"As if!" He shouted, rushing towards me again, the crazy motherfucker couldn't even raise his arms.

But never giving up until the end fit the hotheaded teenager impression I'm was getting from him.

He jumped, which was a bit unexpected, trying out a dropkick. Just like him, I decided to move unexpectedly, countering his kick with a high kick of my own, this one taken from my new Martial Art mastery and Muay Thai knowledge.

Our legs brushed together as they went past each other. His current position meant that his leg was brushed away from me, barely scratching my sides, while mine ended up directly on his stomach, his own momentum enhancing the force of the hit.

"GUH!" Shinnosuke gasped, spit flying out from his mouth. I could clearly see the last vestiges of the fight leaving his eyes as his conscience began to fade. But it was only when he went totally limp, that I felt safe to tilt my raised leg to the side and drop him to the ground.

"Fight's over," I repeated even though he couldn't hear. "Good fight."

**Quest completed!**

**+300 **

**Your closeness with the Viper's gang of middle school hooligans has increased.**

**Your closeness with the Ragnarok gang has decreased.**

**Your closeness with the Tsuji Shinnosuke has increased.**

**Your reputation within the Tokyo delinquent's scene has increased.**

Whatever you say, Gamer, I certainly don't feel like my closeness with Tsuji Shinnosuke has increased. He certainly isn't in condition to say his piece about that right now.

My victory was met with silence… For about five seconds before Ranma began to talk.

"You could have punched his throat the first time he got close. It would end it faster!" Ranma's complaint made me huff.

"Everybody is a fucking critic."

"No, seriously, did you see the way he attacked you? Like, _full_ of holes. And the throat man, I tell you he must have something against protecting it."

"I get it; you would have fought differently and ended it all in three moves, no need to brag."

"Two, and I just tell it like it is." He shifted his weight on his feet and smiled at me. "Still, good work, pretty intense."

"Yeah." I could see that by the fact that Shinnosuke was constantly in my face and attacking, which forced me to match, counter, and tank his blows with the same intensity. I can only imagine what it must have looked like to someone watching.

And I fought my answer on Haruka. She was… fine, like she has always been, but her cheeks were noticeable paler.

"That was…" She chewed her lower lip for a bit, trying to find the right word. "Violent." She decided in the end.

"Ah, well, it was a fight," I said, feeling a bit awkward.

"B-Boss!" Several voices cried out behind me. I turn to see the rest of the group of delinquents had finally snapped out of their shook and were now congregating around their fallen leader.

"Aaah," Ranma grumbled after a few seconds of just watching them. "Now that I think about it, this was kinda anticlimactic."

"I'm sorry if my life is not entertaining enough for you." I bit back, but sighed in the end. "… Let's just go home. There is nothing for us there anymore."

The fight was fun, the exp was juicy, but I don't see why we should stay.

"Home? But what about that rumor about the mysterious repair jobs?" Haruka asked.

"Oh yeah, that." I thought back to what the girl had said. It did sound interesting, however… "I can't even think about where to start looking?"

"We could ask around," Haruka suggested.

"It's gonna night soon, though." Ranma helpfully reminded us of that fact.

We were starting to make our way back, placing this entire incident to the back of our minds while we did so, but just as we were about to cross the entrance of the temple and began descending the stairs. We heard something very,_ very_ distinctive.

"GET THEM!"

I _swirled _on my heels as I turned around, my grip on my fingers gripping my bat's handle like iron hooks. I was expecting to find the rest of the 'Tsuji Troop' rushing at us in an attempt to get revenge for their fallen leader. However, I found them talking rapidly among themselves.

"What?" I wondered out loud, hearings the delinquent's voices growing louder. I looked at Ranma, who has also turned and assumed battle position. He looked back and shrugged.

Before I could voice my confusion to the delinquents themselves, however, the discussion finished, and _all_ of them looked up at us with murderous glares.

On the fair back, bandage guy was sniggering like a supervillain.

Of course. I rolled my eyes and I moved to intercept the incoming gang.

Fighting against a group of people is much different than fighting against a single person, obviously. As a rule of thumb, you're fucked. There is simply no way to defend against attacks coming from all sides and at the same time. One or more of them _will_ bring you down eventually, and that's if you luck out, and no one grabs you from behind and lock the movements of your arms, basically turning you in a glorified punch bag.

There are several techniques you can use to help you fight better, like keep moving, try to reposition yourself in a more advantageous, try to position the group so they strike themselves rather than you, but typically, unless you're highly trained, have a weapon with you, or have good back up; an one-against-many fight doesn't end so well for the 'one' part.

That was back on my old life, of course. Here, in anime world, things work differently.

Here, the fight went much differently than it would have. Right now my body was blatantly superhuman, I hadn't had the time to test out what exactly what I could do, but I can safely say that my strength alone, the most straightforward of my stat, was high enough that I could break concrete with my bare hand, so the most challenging thing for me to do as _holding back. _

Tsuji Shinnosuke could take my new strength, but his group was noticeably weaker. Most of my attacks weren't well executed because of the chaos around me, but they carried a lot of punch behind them, causing meaty smacks and cracks wherever they landed. Only the delinquents' own tenacity let them kept going after that. Their attacks, in contrast, didn't hurt or damage me a whole lot. Frankly, the impacts of their attacks gave me more trouble than the damage itself, as it frequently made me mess up my posture or balance.

While what happened wasn't exactly a 'one hit, one man down' situation we see in Kung fu flicks, it was simultaneously more impressive and more brutal

By the end, I gleefully strode to where the bandage dude was whimpering and trying to crawl away and whop him over the head and to the land of unconsciousness.

He deserved a lot more for the troubles he brought me, but he's already injured, so fuck it.

My mangled bat now had some specks of blood on it, making for a ghastly image; I ignored it and placed it over my shoulder, a gesture that was quickly becoming part of my default image.

**You familiar has been cleansed.**

Hm?

A brief flash descended upon my mind; I caught a glimpse of Minon's falling from a high height and snapping her neck against the ground. The images disappeared a moment later like they hadn't even shown up in the first place, leaving me blinking and disoriented.

Minon is dead?

A surge of panic stab my chest, but I quickly subdue it. No, not dead,_ cleansed_. Popping open my Summon Familiar skill, I saw that the once filled slot was open again, and Minon's Strength Card was completely black, marking it as currently unsummonable.

I somehow knew I could summon her again if I used my skill to refill her card first.

But it didn't change the fact she got 'killed'. Did something kill her? She appeared to be falling from somewhere high, was it an accident?

"Hey, Hiroshi, what are you looking at?" Ranma asked. Making me blink and realize I'd unconsciously turned to look at the direction Minon had been killed.

"Nothing," I said reflectively. "Have you finished with your side?"

Ranma crossed his arm and raised his eyebrow at my admittedly dumb question, behind him, there were piles of unconscious bodies dispatched way more efficiently than I did. It might be possible he had finished a while ago and was just waiting for me.

"Right, where's Haruka?" I asked, feeling a pang of guilt and worry wheeling up in my stomach. The girl didn't know how to fight, a fact that had slipped out of my mind in the moment and- wait fuck! What if she got attacked!?

"I told her to scramble cuz she'd got hurt." Ranma responded, "I saw her circling around the mess. I think she went to take cover by the shrine."

I sighed, relieved that Ranma was keeping an eye on her.

I swear I'd do that myself on the next opportunity.

"Hey Haruka, we're finished! You can come out now!" I called out in the direction of the shrine.

…

Nothing.

No response, no handsome-looking girl popping up from behind the shrine, or from standing up from behind the offering box, or even coming out from inside the shrine. Just the creaking sound of old, dilapidated wood as it was massaged by the rushing wind of the waning day.

I slowly closed my eyes, fighting against the dread and annoyance my genre savviness was invoking.

Maybe it was nothing, maybe she hadn't heard us, or was playing a prank, or something. I really hope this was the case.

But I can't simply ignore the nagging feeling in the back of my head. A weak, faint feeling I realized it had been there since I arrived in that place, but only now, without delinquents vowing for my head, could focus on it.

No, too weak, could be my imagination playing tricks on me, building up by the fact that Haruka _wasn't showing up._

Ranma, too, called for her once. The results were the same.

"She's in the back." He concluded.

"I doubt so," I said as I started to walk toward the shrine.

It became undeniable then because as I approached, the feeling on the back of my head only grew.

**Spiritual Senses leveled up! **

Shit.

Ascending the steps to the shrine, walking over the uneven tiles of stone and dirt, passing the old, offering box. I noticed that the door was a bit ajar, understandable for someone how wanted to hide or at least keep out of sight. However, it would be questionable if Haruka would be able to squint her body inside, both due to the shrine's modest size, and the altar to the Kami that was most likely inside. Still, it wouldn't be unrealistic to assume she'd at least had taken a look.

Securing my mangled baseball bat with one hand, I pulled the door open.

"Double shit!" I cursed, this time out loud.

"What?" Ranma, who's been accompanying me, asked. Clearly alarmed at my sudden reaction.

"… Do you remember the Illusion Barrier where we fought that monkey yokai? The one that appeared naturally?"

Because I could see what was left of the altar to the Kami inside… through the distorting, transparent surface of an Illusion Barrier entrance.

_One I didn't create._

"Eh? What? There is one right there?" He looked at the phenomenon he couldn't see, and then the implications dawned on him. "Wait, do you think Haruka went inside!?"

"It seems like it," I confirmed.

"Wait, wait, wait! You said people could only enter them with you!"

Because that was what seems like it at the time.

I'd done some tests on the limitations and applications of Illusion Barriers before, it was one of the first things I did, in fact. I could create them, and they all leave a bubble-like, transparent portal when I activate my Illusion Barrier Escape skill while inside. Ranma and everybody else can't interact or even see them in any way, shape, or form. I'd even place a bubble in the middle of a crowded school corridor to test that out; everybody just walked through it like it wasn't there.

Haruka was just a normal girl. She shouldn't be able to get inside one at all, or, at least, not so easily.

Excerpt…

… She… isn't a normal girl… If we go by the Gamer system, which I see no reason not to, her death or permanent injury could cause the literal apocalypse, as the system had helpfully implied in the consequences for failing the quest to save her life.

She is not a normal girl.

"Clearly, I was wrong." I decided.

Maybe I was wrong now, maybe Haruka wasn't in there, there is very real chance that's the case.

But as things stand, we can't afford not to look.

"Let's freaking go then! We have to get her!" Ranma stated the obvious.

"Yeah, but…" I hesitated.

"What!?"

"This one is different," I reported, looking at the bubble of unreality. "It's… yellow."

_"What!?" _

"It's not completely transparent like the others, ok. There is a yellow tinge on it."

That was the only difference, a golden tone softly framing its undulating edges, it was a very, _very_ small difference, but when dealing with things like that, every deviation has to be taken into accord.

"So what? We're not going in because it isn't in the right color!" Ranma affronted.

"I didn't say that!" I bit back. "Just… let's be careful, ok. We don't know what could be waiting for us on the other side."

"We'll kick its ass anyway!" Ranma declared. "Let's just go already! We're wasting time!"

"Yeah, it's not like we have much choice."

The very definition of diving into the unknown, I guess. Alright, fuck it, let's do this!

It occurred to me that I could have summoned Minon for extra back up. But by then, I was already stepping into the bubble, dragging Ranma with me.

To a world of blood-red skies and a giant black sun.

-0-0-0-

This illusion barrier certainly isn't like any other I've entered before.

Rather than a misty recreation of the immediate area with the ghostly impressions of the people on the other side, this was a recreation of the temple, and _only_ the temple. The rectangular boundaries held only a singular line of trees as mementos of the vegetation that should have been there. And stretched out across an impossible large distance where there would normally be a representation of the Ōizumichō district but held nothing at all.

A bright blood-red color dominated everything on sight, to the extent that it suppressed every other color and made it hard to make out edges, angles, and perspective. As if the whole world was a solid block of red. The only thing allowing us to detect distances and shapes were the dashes of deep black that washed over things like endless shadows, more intensely represented by the soft black rain that fell from the equally black clouds covering the pitch-black sun above. The splashes of the black droplets over the overbearing redness were the only thing giving the world shape, and it drenched our bodies in something I hope was water.

"Great." Grumbled Ranma-chan in an oddly echoy pang in her voice. I spared her a look and noticed that this world's effects had made her shirt blend so seamlessly to the area around her that it made look like her head and arms were floating over her legs. Her hair was producing a similar effect.

I would undoubtedly have made a witty comment about this fact if the situation were less tense.

"Stay sharp. This Illusion barrier is not like the others."

I looked around the place. While there are few things of notice, they were surprisingly hard to make them out, the overwhelming sound of rain also wasn't helping.

"No shit," Ranma grumbled once more before focusing. "So, where's Haruka?"

"I can't see her." Impaired visibility, unknown enemy, really creepy ambiance, and Haruka nowhere to be seen; yeah, I'm bringing out the big guns.

And by that, I meant I produced Ryoga's umbrella from my inventory. I could handle its weight much better now, but I still placed the tip on the ground to help me support it.

"I said we spit and look around—"

"OI HARUKA, WHERE YOU'RE AT!?" Ranma bust out.

"Or we could just try this."

To my surprise, we didn't immediately attract some enemy or anything but instead produced a very high pitch sound.

"Kyah!"

It echoed through the rain.

"Oi, is that?" Ranma choked

No time to think about the implications. I called out. "HARUKA, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Here!" She shrieked, her voice thin with terror. The sound made us bolt to meet her as soon as her running silhouette appeared in the rain.

She nearly collapsed in my arms, her whole body shaking in fear. But once she realized she was with us, she immediately started to gather herself enough to control her breathing.

"Hiroshi!" She called out after she recovered some of her composure. "What is this!? Where the hell we are!? What's happening!?"

I kept my hand on her shoulders to help steady her. Frankly, I'm immensely glad I found her safe and sound— and this fast, too, I was expecting for it to be a lot harder.

"I'll explain everything after we get out of here. One second!" I closed my eyes and reached out.

**ID escape failed, disparity between levels is too high. **

Of course there'd be a catch.

"Shit!"

"What? What was that 'Shit'?" Ranma asked, making herself known.

"I can't get us out until we beat up whatever's in there."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, who are you!?" Haruka demanded of the strange girl.

"I'm Ranma- Err."

Great fucking way to confuse the girl even more Ranma, time and place, man, time and place-

And then my thoughts screeched to a halt, and I realize just _why _Ranma had trailed off on her dumb response.

We could see Haruka better now that we're close. The rain made easy for us to catch the sparse details the color contrast allowed. She went out with us this morning wearing a striped shirt and overalls. We could see the shirt just fine due to it's red on black colors, but the other piece of clothing…

"Where are your pants!?" Ranma put things bluntly.

Indeed: there was nothing hiding the black silhouette of a pair of long, runners legs crowned by striking bright red panties around the surprisingly shapely hips.

"I-I-I had no choice!" Exclaimed the half-naked girl, now trying to push her shirt downward to hide her modesty. I have no idea how the color them was translating mine and Ranma's blushes. "It had gotten in my clothes!"

I yanked my teenager eyes from the enticing vision enough for me to process that statement.

"What do you mean?"

*Squeak*

"AH!" Haruka exclaimed suddenly and jumped in my arms, latching herself around my neck.

"H-Hey!" I grunted while warping my arm on her lower back. Do you know how hard balancing a tall, athletic girl and an ultra-heavy umbrella is? _Very. _"Get a hold of yourself!"

"What was that!?" Asked Ranma whipping her head around.

"I-It's here!" Haruka screamed. *Squeak* "AH!"

"What is this squeaking!" I called, desperately trying to concentrate through the tight body being pressed on mine, damn teenage hormones! Why are you reacting at a time like this!?

"I see it!" Ranma declared. "It's fast!"

"What, god damn it!?" I can't see the shit, and Ranma was blurring her head trying to follow it. 'Fast' is an understatement.

"Keep it away from me!" Haruka continued to scream.

_*Squeak!*_

I felt it, not the thing, but the growing feeling from before, when Ryoga attacked, a mixture of Goosebumps and a chill and an urge to fucking_ move _coming from a particular direction_. _Like before, it stunned me for e second.

"Not so fast!" Ranma shouted, throwing a punch so fast that it propelled some of the rain horizontally.

*S-Squeak!?*

"Aha!" The martial artist cried out victoriously, her other hand joining the first to grip a… what?

Squinting my eyes and moving close to see, I could make out a—

"Is that a squirrel?" I asked. The fuck was a squirrel doing a last boss zone of all places!?

"E-Eh!?" Haruka finally detached her face from my neck to glance at the thing. "It isn't a rat?"

Is that what she was afraid of?

"No, it's a squirrel," Ranma said while she relaxed her stance somewhat. "Sheesh, all this drama because of a squirrel! Lameee."

"Hey, now!" The blonde girl said, her voice growing stronger. "How the heck I was supposed to know it was a squirrel!? I was trying not to freak out for the, you know, _creepy hallucination!_ And then some furry thing just got into my pants and started _rubbing itself on me!" _

"Hallucina—HAH! Check it out Hiroshi; she thinks she's hallucinating!"

"This is what a normal person would think, yes." I sighed.

I swear Ranma, your female voice's a sexy raspy purr that sounded like liquid chocolate to the ear, but it can _really_ get on someone's nerves if you tease them like that.

"Who even_ are_ you!?" Haruka demanded.

"I told you, dummy. I'm Ranma—OUCH!"

It appears that the squirrel has, perhaps predictably, sank its teeth on Ranma's gripping fingers. She lashes out with a movement that would have laughed any other squirrel to the stratosphere, but this one not only managed to cling on her hand, but to circle up her arm and into her shirt in a clean, but somewhat hard-to-see movement.

"GAH! What in the world—Hya!?" Ranma cried out. It was tough to see due to the colors, but I blinked as the pair of heavy breasts began to violently bounce in her shirt.

"AH, S-STOP IT!" She continued to shout, finally overcoming her initial shock enough to pat around her chest area, trying to grab the running rodent. "ARG! This-This thing-_Kyah!_ It _bit _me!"

"See! That's what happened to me! Who's lame now!?" Haruka shouted vindication heavy in her voice.

"ARHHHH! STOP YOU DAMN PERVERT SQUIRREL!" Ranma was wiggling in a way only someone with squirrels in their pants would— Shirt, in this case. She fell down on the wet ground and I swear the Phineas e Ferb's song began to play in my head.

"H-H-Hiroshi! DO SOMETHING!"

At my friends' cry, I double slapped my face and focused. Right, Ranma got squirrel Happosai in her shirt. What to do.

"What _do_ you want me to do, anyway!?" I complained.

"ANYTHING!" Ranma shouted back.

And that would be the time to raise the super heavy umbrella over my head and start to comically beat Ranma until she is blue and purple. A true display of anime tropes, it what anymore of the Ranma 1/2's cast would do. However, I only follow anime tropes if they amuse me, and I don fancy laying the mother of beatdowns on Ranma if she doesn't deserve it.

So instead, I reach down to my writhing friend and completely rip her Chinese shirt off. Making Haruka gasp behind me.

*Squeak?* The squirrel looked up at me from his place between Ranma's sizable cleavage, confused as it to why it could feel the rain again. Right to the point where I slapped it to the ground.

"Kya!" Ranma let out a feminine gasp while her breasts bounced over the impact of my slap.

"GAH!?" Haruka gasped for another reason.

"Gasp." I vocalized calmly, not wanting to feel left out, "There, fixed it!"

_"You rip out to her shirt!" _Haruka squeaked tightly.

And speaking of squeaks, the pervert squirrel was now squeaking angrily at me from its place on the ground. The only thing left was a little rodent fist shaking in my direction to complete the image.

Yeah, this is not a normal squirrel.

Ranma let out a breath as she sat up. "Bah. Thank Hiroshi, should've thought of that."

"_T-That's_ your reaction!?"

Ignoring poor Haruka for a bit, I rose to my feet and offer a hand to pull Ranma up. After both our fighting force we back in action, we did the obvious thing and _loomed_ over the perceived threat.

Of course, Ranma was only looming cuz she was pissed at it, but I? I could see its name tag.

**Semurahamaru of the small delights.  
Level: 50.**

The title certainly paints a picture, but the way it's displayed was creeping me out; only monsters had their name and titles in a single line like that. Plus, the level… this might end up turning into a monty python's rabbit situation.

Still, the rodent seems to be getting worried under our long and unnaturally dark shadows, and I don't think the red sky behind us is helping the matters. It kept shaking its head, looking at me and Ranma while slowly stepping back. If I hadn't deduced this squirrel wasn't normal, this abnormal show of emotion would have convinced me of it.

_"What is all this ruckus!?"_

The grouchy voice that echoed was so unexpected that it almost sent us stumbling. Both Ranma and I snapped our head to where it had come from at the same time that Haruka fell on her ass with a scream on her lips.

An enormous_ thing_ has surged from gods known where and was now towering over us like a freaking mountain. A long shadow had darkened it to the point that it looked like a giant rectangular block with what I could only barely make out was four legs.

_"Ranma!" _I hissed.

"I see it!" She said, already on battle stance and sizing the thing up, and there was a lot to size.

A boss battle. A boss battle that I hope can to avoid.

"Who are you!?" I asked, raising my voice to pierce through the rain. Ranma gave me a look and decided not to rush in.

A protuberating appeared in the shadow, raising itself and turning weirdly to our direction. It wasn't until three baseball-sized spheres of bright red opened that I realized it was its head. Then it _breathed,_ letting out a burst of intense heat followed by a trail of flames that turned to vapor under the rain.

It can breathe fire too? Greattt.

"Hiroshi! What the hell is that thing!?" Ranma snapped.

I can't see its name, title, or specimens, nor I can see its level. It's not that it doesn't have a tag telling me these things, is that it was too high for me to have a proper look, much less when it was raining like that.

"Hum. What you brats looking at?" It spoke. Its voice sounded _ancient,_ like, it had all the wear and tear of an old man on the verge of dying, but still loud and clean and, if not full of vitality, firm. A contradiction in form of noise. "Ah! I get it. It's these blasted colors! Mō-Mō, move away! You're blocking the damn view."

A low, grave noise echoed around us, blasting the chilly rain and unexpected heated air in our direction.

"Is that… is that a 'Mooo'? It's that thing a _cow!?"_ Ranma's incredulity was palpable in her voice.

My mind wondered about the correct word to the sound a cow makes for a single moment before focusing back to what was important, just in time to process the massive, hulking thing moving to the side.

It's dark, unnaturally long shadow was like a perfect blanket over everything it covered, but now that it'd moved, the place where it once stood was overtaken by red, thus revealing a new, much smaller figure in black.

The details were hard to make out, but it was an old man. A very, _very_ old man. His body was of an odd, pear-like shape, with a somewhat bloated belly with gaudy limbs hidden beneath a very loose kimono sticking out of it, all weirdness in his body was also accentuated by his hunch over posture, making his chest sink backward under the half-open gap of the outfit.

His face was something that barely seems human; thought putting like that might be a bit rude. It has clearly been affected by the ages, a crosswork of wrinkles and age lines scrunched up the skin of the oddly elongated head, there was a noticeable sag in the cheeks and forehead, making his eyes look like sunken holes rather than proper eyes. He doesn't seem to have any hair in his head, but his facial hair was sharp and long enough to make Shaolin masters proud.

I got the impression of a man that aged way past what most people should.

"Who're you, old man!?" Ranma asked. She was still holding her battle stance. Good thing too.

Because I doubt this guy is human.

"Humph!" The old man grumped nasally. Stepping forwards a bit. Only then I noticed the rain was shirking around him as if to not daring to get him wet. The odd phenomenon allowed me to clearly see his tag. "The state of youth of this age… You will address me as honorable elder, do you understand, brat!? And cover your bosom! Have you no shame!" He chastised.

**Tōtōsai  
Ancient Yokai Blacksmith.  
The Father of the Fangs.  
Level: ?**

Well fuck, not only his level is the troublesome '?' but he also has_ two_ freaking titles. What the fuck does this mean!? Can this even happen!?

_Wait a second!_

A youkai blacksmith named Tōtōsai? That sounds like—

_IT'S THAT DUDE FROM INUYASHA!_

"What was that old man!?" Ranma shouted, making _Tōtōsai the blacksmith _grumble.

"Ranma, hold on," I said before she could add any more rudeness.

Now, how to go about this? I can't call him by the name or give any indication that I know him, and I certainly can't mention Inuyasha. The problem is that I can't explain how I know that without spilling the beans about everything, and I don't want to lie about a reason to know either. Lies like that never last and end up provoking troublesome situations in the future.

So the only option is to act like I don't know him, which… was true.

I never actually met him, and I don't remember the Inuyasha anime that well. All the knowledge I have only served to color my opinion about him, and he looks different than he did in the show, a lot… older—Wait!

Older…

Oh god.

"Hum? What are you looking at, youngster?"

"… Sorry." I tried to remember the proper way to address yokais from my memories of Japanese folklore. There isn't a set rule, but the main thing seems to be politeness. "It's my first time talking to a Yokai. I ask for forgiveness if I caused any disturbance. We just wish to retrieve our friend."

And speaking of it, where's… Ah, Haruka still on the ground, looking at Tōtōsai and the giant, possible cow-like thing with wide eyes. I think she's in shock.

"Another indecent girl I see, and if I have to guess, you're also involved with the other ruckus on the other side." The old blacksmith commented and continued to grumble. "I had just managed to fall back to sleep! Have you come to bring yet further torment to this poor old man? Oh, the shame!"

He's not like I remember… from the few recollections I had. I remember who he was, but it has been too long since I last watch the anime to remember how he acts. Plus…

I think- no, I'm certain that this isn't the Tōtōsai I knew; If my hunch is correct, then this is a Tōtōsai that _outlived _the anime.

From the Sengoku era to now, 500 years, he lived all this time, that means…

No, I'll think about the full implications of that later.

"If you are referring to the fight outside this dimension, then I participated in it, I apologize for having disturbed you then too," I said, trying to appease him.

"'Dimension'? Huh, you speak like a foreigner. I'm Tōtōsai of Adatara, youngster with indecent females, who are you?"

"My name is Ōe Hiroshi, Tōtōsai-san, this is Saotome Ranma and Tenou Haruka. We are honored to meet you." By that point, Haruka started to get to her feet. She still needed to grasp on mine and Ranma's waistbands to pull her trembling legs up, however.

"Hey, old man, how are you making the rain avoid you like that?" Ranma asked bluntly, she was more relaxed now, but still made no movement to cover her large tits.

Tōtōsai scoffed her disregard for modesty and apparently decided to drop the subject. "I befriend it. Now, can one of you explain what that ruckus was all about?"

"On the outside, or here on the inside?" I began. "The ruckus on the outside happened because some guys challenged me for a fight, and the one here happened because of the squirrel."

It occurred to me that, unlike what I've been expecting, we probably wouldn't have to fight anything in here. Going by what I knew about Tōtōsai, it's unlikely that he would start anything, and that giant cow monster doesn't seem to be violent despite its size and fire breathing. Currently, it was sitting on the side, pulling a tall tree branch while munching on its leaves. I don't think it's very smart.

"Where _is_ that damn squirrel, by the way?" Ranma asked.

"Ah yes, Semurahamaru, he was melted back into this oumagatoki. It was using it to survive until today, but something changed recently. I was surprised when he managed to take a physical form." Tōtōsai's wrinkled hand caressed the length of his long goatee. "Must have thought the maidenhood of these girls were offering, but now the perceived power must have run out."

The old yokai turned his back to us and walked to there the frame of the temple stood. It was a bare foundation with four columns and a roof. Settled on a circle under the roof, was a futon, a micro television, and countless others object big and smalls that I couldn't make out due to the shadows, but I reckon by the anvil and the boiler among them that they were related to blacksmithing.

"You live here?" I asked, unsure where to go from here.

Tōtōsai sat on the center of his belongings with difficulties, each vertical movement he made seems like a struggle, his thin legs trembled so much as he was lowering himself that I thought they might snap for a moment.

His sunken regarded me for a long moment before he finally spoke.

"Passing thought." He shifted to the side, laying an elbow on his knee and his head on his raised fist. "No matter where I go. Be the haunted meadows of the world of illusions, the ever-shifting landscapes of the land of legends, dreams, and gods, or even the rotting scenery of the world you humans have inherited, people always find me, they always ask for my creations. So I always move."

Ok I… definitely caught the subtle meaning of his words

"We don't wish for anything from you. As I said, we are just there to get our friend." As a show of goodwill, I raised the ultra-heavy umbrella to my shoulder and let it slid down into an inventory screen, disarming myself of my most dangerous weapon.

"Are you…" A voice started behind me. I could feel Haruka tightening the grip she had on my shirt. On the other side, she did the same with Ranma's waistband, it was an uncomfortable place to grip, but the martial artist made no comment. "Are you the one fixing the broken things… Around the area, I mean."

Oh yeah, there was something like that.

The ancient yokai shrugged. "It's a hobby." Was his explanation.

He's fixing things around the neighborhood, seemly at random and with no incentive, from simple fixes like everyday cracks on the stonework to complicated endeavors like the whole electric system of a car. How he's doing it I don't know, I'd never related a blacksmith to an electrician but nevertheless; he's assuming responsibility for the acts.

Maybe he could…

"Ah, there is it." Tōtōsai leaned in, making the shadows dance across his face. His voice had turned cold. "You _want_ something from me."

I nearly choke on my breath as I felt the weight of his words. But I can't deny that it's true.

"What is it? What is it you want from the great Tōtōsai? A sword that inflicts incurable diseases in each cut? A spear that can pierce through heavens as easily as it would a man's chest? Perhaps a mace able to ground mountains to dust?" The yokai rambled, his tired voice growing louder and tenser with each word. I could see his fist clenching over the fabric of his kimono, trembling in fury. "Come on, off with it! Tell me what you want so I can add it to the piles of denials I've been accumulating over the centuries!"

Shit, there it goes all the goodwill we could possibly have build. Still, if he really wanted to know.

"I want you to repair my baseball bat."

He immediately began to reply, only to shallow back his word and stutter. As if too shocked to react.

_"Repairs!" _He choked out. "You wish to purchase services of Tōtōsai of Adatara, the father of the fangs, the one who armed the heavenly ones, to make _repairs!?"_ Without waiting for a response, he threw her head back and laughed. Laughed so hard his thin chest trembled and heaved, only to be interrupted by a coughing fit.

"What was that about?" Ranma asked me in a hushed, but quiet tone while the old man recuperated.

"I really am trying to fix my bat." I saw no reason to lie about that.

"Yeah, but couldn't you've done it without provoking the cow? Haruka is here!"

Ah…

Yeah, the cow demon, Mō-Mō, I believe, was now looming a bit too close to us, close enough that put us well inside the range of its flaming breath. And I agreed with Ranma, picking a fight with Haruka so close would be unwise.

"Ehk." Tōtōsai finished with a dry cough very characteristic of an old man. "All my age, I'd never…"

Well, he certainly seems to have lost the heat he was building up and went back to being a grumpy old man, that's… good, I guess. I open my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me.

"Now say what you wish to say, Semurahamaru…"

*Squeak!*

"Ah, it's there!" Ranma exclaimed, pointing at the squirrel perked on the youkai's shoulder.

The thing began squeaking in Tōtōsai's ear. Its squeaks that once sounded so prevalent now barely made it out the rain.

Hum, the rain seems less intense somehow.

Ironically, that fact made it harder to see the world.

"I see, I understand now." The old yokai said, and then sunk on himself with a breath. His eyes or the holes where his eyes laid hidden by flesh turned toward me.

"You've done a service for my little friend, boy; it's first offering in 68 years. I've decided." He shifted, holding out a hand. "Give me this baseball bat you wish to see fixed."

I couldn't follow the line of reasoning, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It was weird, putting words to what happened next. I remember taking a step forwards under Ranma's protests, something about stealing my shoelaces or something he'd experienced before, but then, not even two steps in, my bat slip from my hands as the squirrel, moving at higher speeds than what he displayed before, took it to the blacksmith in my stead. Seeing a large, broke down baseball bat being carried by a tiny squirrel to an old yokai was admittedly a weird sight.

I would have protested, or at least approached to see the process. But my shirt was pulled from behind, not strongly, just enough to halt my steps. I look back, expecting to see Ranma, but instead, I found Haruka_ staring_ at me.

The black and red contrasted on her expression. Shit, I've forgotten how terrifying all this must be for her.

"Tōtōsai-san, I think I should-" Come back later, was what I meant to say, just so I could take Haruka out of here and back to normal reality, but I didn't get the change was something came spinning towards me. I caught it reflexively.

"There."

I…

The metal bat _gleamed_ if the spark of red over its black surface was any indication. I don't understand how he'd done it so fast, It took only a minute, perhaps even less.

But then again, maybe it was yokai bullshit; I suppose I'll never know.

"Right," I said, gripping the immaculate handle tightly. "Right, thank you," I repeated and drew back. What I gave Haruka wasn't a hug, it was a shoulder to steady herself, Ranma was doing the same on the other side.

"I have an… ability to get us out, but to activate it, I need to be the strongest thing in this place…" I said out loud as an explanation for my friend and to hopefully prompt a suggestion to the yokai, honestly, without my skill, I don't know how we would get out.

"Yes, this Twilight told me about it. Try it again, that odd thing you did, you should be successful this time."

God, his words, his mannerisms… This was a friendly yokai, a friendly yokai from a series that I know off, and that is at least non-antagonistic towards humans. I could stay for a bit. I could ask him _so many things._

But Haruka comes first.

So I took both her and Ranma by the shoulders, almost instinctively drawing them close to me before activating the skill.

And just like that, we were gone.

-0-0-0-

I stepped out of this Illusion barrier like I've done to so many others in these past few days. This time, however, my mind was heavy with the revelations…

In a way, I've learned more things from my talk with the Shiori, we'd talk for a long time about many things, and even now I still processing what she'd said.

This time though, this time was different, I haven't learned things from a pleasant, date-like meeting, I _experience_ them, for the first time I got I _taste_ of the world I now have context for.

Inuyasha was real, just like Ranma ½ and Campione. Yokais, _true_ yokais, not those mysterious mindless beings from my Illusion Barriers are real. _Natural_ Illusion Barriers can exist; they are called 'oumagatoki' by the locals, and they… They're alive… in some manner of speaking.

I _felt _it granting me permission to exert my exit ID skill upon it. I… Frankly, I don't know what to think right now.

"Ah!" Fortunately, the first thing I saw after stepping back in the real world proved to be enough of a distraction.

"Rin?"

The Taimanin was kneeling on the ground immediately in front of the temple, most of the clothes that once covered her topside were discarded into a pile near her, leaving out a sweaty white bra tautly spread over her mammoth-sized bosom. Normally something like that would've garnered my complete attention, but I couldn't look away from her naked arms when I noticed them, for they're gleaming with countless rivulets of bright red blood that tattooed the entirety of the two limbs with jagged lines.

The source of the blood was a series of finely carved glyphs that descended over her skin, markings of an unknown form of kanji the Japanese part of my was trying to decipher, by the slightly bloody kunai on her side I say it was self-inflicted. The same markings were being drawn in the blank scroll spread open in front of her, she seems to be drawing with her fingers, using the flowing blood was paint.

Needless to say, it was quite unexpected.

I saw her eyes going from shook to surprise, then blurry with tears. "Aruji-sama!" Rin exclaimed while she threw herself at me. Her body hit my waist, but it wasn't enough to throw me off, her bloody arms circled tightly around me. "A thousand, thousand pardons Aruji-sama. Oh, unforgivable, if something had happened to you and yours this one would, this one would." She cried against my skin, her body trembling with the tiny spasms of her half-muffled sobs.

"I-I back, we're back, what." Haruka was whispering against my shoulder. She hadn't processed Rin's presence yet. "I-I don't feel so good."

"What the hell is this? Who is this lady!?" Ranma, however, was quite aware of her. "W-why the hell is she half-naked!?" She shouted, completely ignoring her own topless state, her large breasts, not as large as the ones mashed against a dangerous part of my body, brushed against my side as she looked up at me. "Oi Hiroshi! Do you know who the hell—hehhh!" She blinked at the distance between us, her nose scrunching in a cute frown. "Oi, bastard, why the hell you are holding me!?"

Well fuck, is this what being overwhelmed feels like? Too many things happening at once and you don't know what to address first. It fucking sucks.

"NII-SAN! WE'VE COME TO SAVE YOU!"

Of course it wouldn't end there.

The viper guy that we 'saved' early and had hauled ass as soon as he was free of bound appeared again in the temple's entrance, leading 18 other Vipers delinquents ready for a fight.

… Okay.

At least he wasn't escaping like it first seemed, but his timing really sucked. Something that became clear now that he and the rest could see the prone bodies of every Ragnarok delinquent littering the grounds. They we're too late.

A series of 'woooah' and "Ohhhhh" broke through the crowd as they finally looked at me. I could see their weapons falling from their limp fingers, and their eyes growing bigger and filling with sparkling stars. Some of them even began to whistle.

I frowned, why in the world are they acting like that—

"And who the hell are those guys?" Ranma exclaimed a question. Her cheek had unconsciously brushed against the arm I had over her shoulder while she turned to look at the new arrivals. "Urg, do we have to fight them too?"

I… closed my eyes.

At my left, a slightly off girl without any pants was slowly leaning more on me as the stress of the day got to her. At my right, a completely topless girl was brushing her cheek on my arm while shamelessly displaying her 'assets', one of it still clearly mashed against my side. And on my waist, with head lodged on a position that would make for an interesting vision for any onlookers, an unbelievable hot milf loudly choked her sobs, her enormous breasts swaying pendulously beneath her.

"GAh!" Choked a Ragnarok grunt who had recently awaken to the sight. He pointed a fearful finger at me. "D-Dandy bat!"

Fucking hell.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 09

* * *

Today, no, it's yesterday now. Yesterday was an eventful day.

We'd taken Haruka to Tofu's clinic to get something to calm her nerves. She's clearly been shaken by all she experienced, from being in the middle of a gratuitous display of teenage violence to suddenly fall into an entirely new and intimidating world with an honest-to-god yokai in it. And she'd really fallen into it; according to her, she stepped into the temple to find cover, only to smash face-first against a plushy barrier she couldn't see, she got sucked in a second later and I can imagine what happened next. Pretty much confirming that while she can't feel or see Illusion Barriers, she can interact and enter them.

That was all I managed to get from her before she closed off. She asked for some time to think about all of this. I can't deny that the way she said it didn't hurt a little bit, but it was understandable. If she decides to put everything behind her, including the budding friendship with the troublemakers who caused it all, it was her decision.

I sighed one more time, adding to the large count I've been accumulating through the night. No use worrying about that now, I guess.

The weight of my restored bat sat comfortably on my shoulder as I rolled it around, occasionally dropping it down to bounce it on the pavement just for the heck of it, sometimes I even used it as I cane. This was all mostly to feel the new leather wrapping moving on my palm, or to see the light of the lamppost dancing over its immaculate metallic surface.

It felt good to have it whole again.

A short while later, my midnight walk ended in the same place my Sunday began; the vacant lot a few blocks from my apartment and floating innocently right in the middle of it was the spherical shape of the Illusion Barrier I'd created in the morning. It was now spotting a light green color, contrary to the transparent hue from before.

Something had changed in it, that much was obvious, the fact that for some reason Minon died inside after hours of non-stop annihilation against monsters that couldn't, or at least shouldn't, be able to leave any lasting damage on her was telling enough. Maybe something else got inside, or the barrier itself leveled up. Any of these cases could explain the change of color.

I passed a nervous hand over my hair, finally disturbing the perfect gel-granted slickness that bravely held on for most of the day. The truth of the matter is; I don't have enough information to start making assumptions.

The rustle of clothes behind me told me that my follower had assumed her new favored position of the night.

"Stop that, Rin. I already said you can raise your head." Looking over my shoulder, I found the expected sight of Uehara Rin prostrating herself in a very low dogeza bow. She's been doing this each time we stop for more than a few seconds.

"T-This one can't, Aruji-sama!" She declared against the ground, not even trying to raise her head. "I-It wouldn't be proper."

I sighed yet again.

"I'm the one who rushed into danger without thinking. It's not your fault." I tried to reason with her one more time.

"T-This one's duty is to protect Aruji-sama!" She declared. "She should have secured the area of your honorable duel first hand; she should have made sure there were no unforeseen dangers or threats. Yet the Twilight Gate went undetected, causing one of Aruji-sama's favored to fall into it, later followed by Aruji-sama himself." Her voice began to break. "T-This useless one even failed to respond in time! If it weren't for Aruji-sama's own talents, her ward could have suffered mortal consequences. Oh please!" She cried out loudly. One would think she was trying to fuse her head with the ground right then. "T-This one implores you, Aruji-sama, lay down your rightful judgment upon her so she could repent!"

Anh, all this formal speaks jumbled with her weird way of talking. I wanted to sigh again.

"You really want to be punished so badly?" Matter of pride? Perhaps, or she just wants a consequence for her failure, I could understand that. "Ok… What usually happens to a Taimanin when she fails her mission?"

I could her jerking a little, her head rising to look at my feet and leg before going down again.

"A-Aruji-sama! A-a-a Taimanin should be disciplined by bathing in boiling oil to wash her sins, t-then her back should be whipped proportionally to the humiliation she brought upon herself, the noble Corp, and her master. Finally, she must be given to the barracks so her body may be useful in releasing the stress of worthier warriors. This must go on until her master or the Corp deems enough. After that, they would decide if she will be allowed back in active service, or if she must give up her life as a final form of repentance."

_… Completely _brutal, of course, with a dash of public use that makes the whole thing sound like a hardcore hentai. I _suppose_ it makes a sickly amount of sense for something like Taimanin Asagi; even if the kunoichi manages to escape the sexual humiliation she would endure in the hand of the demons, she still has to endure the sexual humiliation that would be waiting for them at the hands of the taimanin corp, so she is fucked no matter what, meaning that the episode or game will always have H-scenes no matter the outcome.

To be honest, this level of punishment sounds incredibly stupid to me, why risk permanent psychological or physical damage to your highly trained kunoichi? They don't grow in trees fucking _trees_! It's a waste of years of investment goddamn it!

I shook my head from these thoughts and addressed the still bowing ninja.

"Look, I won't put you through punishment of this level, it's disproportional… would take too long, and I don't even have barracks where you could be used." I listed off and almost groaned when I saw that she still maintain the same position. "_Alright_, I'll think of something, I will punish you if you want it so much, but _later_,

I need you tonight, so _raise your damn head!"_

"H-Hai!" She _finally_ did so, and quickly half jumped, half stumbled back to her feet.

…Is that a little blush? I just went drill sergeant on her ass why would she- oh, I said I need her.

Cute.

So cute, in fact, that I had to lean in and place a quick peck on her lips. Something she clearly wasn't expecting by the way she started stuttering and letting out weird squeaky noises.

Making no comment about that and still holding a deadpan expression, I turn around and let her deal with her minor freak out. Next step…

From darkness and shadows of what must be the most evil-looking summoning circle ever a cowgirl appeared.

"WOOOOOH MINON IS BACK!" She proclaimed while raising her warhammer high, her voice booming across the area, illuminating windows and throwing distant dogs into barking fits.

"Volume!" I snapped, but inside I was relieved, looks like she stills the same Minon, the one I summoned this morning I mean. There was a real possibility that she would come out differently after her 'death', or another Cardian of Strength would take her place. But it seems I didn't need to worry.

She was slightly different in appearance though, her blonde and pink hair now only reaches her shoulders rather than fall to her lower back, and her skin color was a few shades darker.

"GRAH! SOR- I mean, sorry master, I forgot." She grinned sheepishly.

"I can see the pattern." I nodded. "Now tell me; how did you die?"

"Err." My Amazonian summon tilted her head. "I-Is that a tricky question? I'm bad at those, minon! I'm still alive master!"

"No, I…" I pinched the bridge of my nose and decided to try a different approach. "You… lost a battle early today, didn't you."

Mino pushed her lips petulantly, looking away.

Seriously?

"Minon…" I said warningly.

"Alright! I did, ok! That thing came out of nowhere!" She snapped. But she soon lowered her tone when she remembered whom she had snapped to. "… Sorry master."

Wearing her emotions on her sleeve is an understatement with this one. Still, I found her oddly charming because of this.

"Tell me what happened in detail," I commanded.

And she did so, sparing absolutely nothing she had seen, heard or felt… Until I told her to skip to the relevant part that it.

My shoulder dropped in relief… and a little disappointment.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yes, master." Minon looked around, alarmed for my flat tone of voice. "Err, did I do something I shouldn't master."

A fucking slime.

… Ok, not a slime; the slimy phenomenon I witnessed with Ranma that one time, it seems like Minon managed to agro every slime in the map with her one-woman jihad against their species. They had fused together into one 'bigass jello' in Minon's word and conspired to take her down.

Wait.

"A _Slime _killed you, Minon?"

She blinked. "Ye…Yeah, that's what I said, master."

"But you're a woman." I mused.

The data I gathered from the experiments Ranma thought it were accidental, indicated that Slimes do not hurt women, _ever_. They only cling to them to dissolve their clothes, and that's it. Their acidic bodies don't even irritate the skin of a female Ranma, but they would leave ugly burns to a male one. Hell, they don't even go on the offensive when the female in question succeeds in damaging them.

That's why I didn't see trouble in leaving Minon alone in an IB that later I'd come to realize only had them.

Yet, she had been killed how…

Wait, didn't she die falling?

"… Mino, tell me again, how did you die?"

"Gladly!" She grinned and patted her biceps. "I was fighting bravely—"

"Without lying," I said, firmly.

The cowgirl choked on her word. "I-I…" She fought her tongue to not answer. "I… IrI… I tri-… I-IIIIIII tttttt_tripped."_ She finally rasped out.

She tripped and fell off a building. That makes more sense.

"I don't like when people lie to me, Minon. Especially when it's important." I said slowly.

I'm not an absolutist, I know there are harmless lies and fun lies meant to prank or surprise, but lies that keep me from seeing the real picture… yeah, those need to be ironed out.

"… I was ashamed." She admitted with her head hanging low.

"You should be more ashamed for lying to me." I sighed. "Look, never do this again, ok, not when things are serious."

She perked up a little.

"Ok, master! Never again, I promise, minon!"

Like talking to a small child, I swear.

"Rin!" The kunoichi that was curiously looking at our interaction snapped to attention. "The situation is much less dangerous than I imagine, but I'm still taking you with me in case something happens."

It's only a bunch of slimes that fused together. Their level didn't really change. I won't even need to kill them. Just go in and erase the barrier.

That green tinge, though, it's worrying me.

"Hai!" The taimanin confirmed. Then she fidgeted a bit. "Get in... Could Aruji-sama mean the Twilight Gate in this lot? If-If so then, this one still has part of the Moonlit Road offering drawn upon her arms. T-this one can safely take Aruji-sama inside if he so desires!"

The Moonlit Road, I've inquired about that earlier, according to Rin, it was a sacrifice of blood and vitality to the moon in exchange for a way inside an Illusion barrier. There is also a twin ritual meant for day; The Sunlit Road offering. Those were the primary method the Taimanin uses to get inside an 'Oumagatoki' if they ever need to.

"I really need that crash course in magic you've promised me, Rin." I reminded her and myself, no matter how well I posed, I was still ignorant to the majority of the supernatural manners. This needs to be rectified fast. But first. "There is no need; you saw me getting inside, remember? I have my own means."

And with that, I sunk my arm inside the barrier, pushing myself up to the elbow before waving for the girls to grab on me. Physical contact is needed for my 'enter illusion barrier' skill to work on them.

Let's just erase this barrier and go home; after a day like this, I'm fucking tired.

-0-0-0-

… It wasn't a fusion of slimes.

"Ah! It looks like me now, minon!"

Indeed, the enormous, gelatinous mass was spotting a protrusion that formed a torso, two limbs, a massive pair of breasts, and a horned head. It did indeed looked like Minon, albeit a half-melted version of her.

But more importantly…

**Giant Slime/Gestating Slime Queen  
Level: 30**

_It's the freaking boss._

…Ok.

This is not unexpected, I mean, I know what the gamer is, I may not know the exact mechanics but I know enough to build some expectations.

"Right. Looks like we'll have to use you, after all, Rin."

A level ? taimanin against a level 30 slime, I was not worried.

"H-Hai! I won't disappoint you, Aruji-sama!"

It appears to be making a mess before we arrived as it already destroyed half of the replicated city block. Suddenly it moved in our direction, apparently finally noticing we were there. The pile of rubble and debris hissed and smoked due to the passage of the acidic body over the pieces.

Their movements were slow and sluggish; it took two full seconds to raise its arm at us.

I raised my eyebrow as I considered the optics of the fight; I knew slimes aren't the fastest monster in a barrier, but to be _this_ slow—

Then the part where the shoulder met the arm began to bloat, ballooning outward in a grotesque, but oddly cartoony display.

"AH!" Cried out Minon, apparently recognizing the phenomenon. She nodded, "We should dodge!"

A little earlier would've been better, but still, we were well out of the way when the bubble finally burst in a violent pop, _launching_ part of its acidic body to the place where we previously stood—

"Eek!" Rin gasped as she was glued to the wall with the blob of greenish slime all over her.

W… _Seriously!?_

Fucking- I _know_ she is a badass ninja, she wouldn't have been able to erase an entire orc cartel otherwise, her level indicated this, what I knew of taimanin indicate this.

Then, what the fuck was that!? Is it because of her meek personality thing? Fuck, I thought it was just a little quirk from this crazy anime world but now it _actually _got in the way.

Whatever, going to talk to her after this is all over, she should be safe there. I mean, her clothes will melt, but she got an abundance of those.

"Oi Minon!" I shouted to the cowgirl at a distance. "It's only us now, get on her face, and keep the pressure on!"

"Aye, master! Minonnn!" She cried while rushing to the monster.

To anyone else, this would be suicide, but Minon was a woman. I don't know why the slimes don't damage women, but I plan to exploit the fuck out of this glitch like any self-respecting gamer would.

As for me, close combat wouldn't do me any good, so I threw my bat back into the inventory, and ran to a better position. I would play magical support.

As far as boss battle goes, this wasn't a hard one.

Minon crashed her warhammer against the gelatinous form, its head shinning with the effect of her Power Strike skill; the attack threw chunks of the monster everywhere.

The fact that she tries to retreat immediately afterward told me that she had acquired some experience fighting slimes and knew that they have a tendency to latch on whatever was attacking them. That said, because this particular slime was much bigger, she did not succeed in getting out of the way fast enough, and her leg got grabbed, not that it prevented her from laying another power strike on the stretched out thread of goo, freeing her leg from the larger whole.

Had she been a man, her leg wouldn't be connected to her body anymore, but as this isn't the case, she could press on with relative abandon, the only risk to being getting trapped beneath the weight of the smile and have her movements constricted. And that was precisely how the monster was trying to deal with her, cutting up her retreat and get more slime on her body to slow her down and make her clumsy.

Meanwhile, I was circling around the area, staying clear from the splashes of acid and lying thick on the Mana Bolt barrage whenever I could.

A simple and straightforward strategy, but one that was working.

But it wouldn't last.

Placing my arm over the destroyed remains of a window, I shot a few more mana bolts at the smile's torso and raised arm, interrupting her attempt at pinning the increasingly slime-covered Minon. The Boss responded to my attack by popping parts of her body, sending 'shrapnels' of acid in my direction and forcing me to change my position.

There was two way to kill a slime, one is to deal enough damage to their form, provided that it was magical damage, and the other is to destroy their 'core', a semi-transparent sphere inside the monster's gelatinous mass, we are trying for the first option because while it was relatively easy to find the core in a small blob on the ground, the boss is a blob taller than Minon and I couldn't even get close. But the thing is, the only attack Minon has that seems to affect the monster was Power Strike, and she needed a few seconds between uses to recharge. Everything else she could dish out just annoyed the beast and got her stuck. And with me, the only magic I had was Mana Bolt, which as effective as it is, it didn't seem to be able to do enough damage to truly worn the beast down.

I don't have a damage counter to know how well we're doing, but it certainly feels like we're not getting far; the slime seems to be able to simply regrown the mass that we blew off, or it used as ammunition, and sometimes that ammunition was directed at Minon rather than me, covering my main tank more and more in acid goo and slowing her down despite her best complains and loud promises of revenge. The straps of her bikini armor were looking thinner by the minute.

It all comes down to the lack of variety in my repertoire; if my one spell and it's few variations fail and I can't pummel the enemy to death with my bat, then I'm a sitting duck. I've meant to rectify that, but there are just so many damn things happening… Whatever, no use whining about it now.

Diving out of the way of a crumbling concrete wall that suffered too much structural damage, I decided to change tactics and pulled up my stat screen while I maneuvered my way through the rubble-filled street.

I had 10 points from the early level up, not enough to make a huge difference like before but enough to give me an edge. I balanced it out between the two stats that affected my magic.

As my back hit another wall with the fight raging on behind, I formed a Mana bolt in my hand. Then I continued to pour Mana in, making the inner light of the sphere swell and pulse as its form bloated out, growing from fist size to beachball sizes in three seconds flat, a new record.

Hit the fucker with a bigger gun, a simple logic, but I got nothing to lose.

"Hey, Minon, duck!"

The cowgirl couldn't see me; she had her back in my direction, pulling herself from the stretch out mass of her own gelatinous clone. But she heard me; thus, her body instinctively reacted to my command by throwing itself to the ground before her mind could process it. The thick thread of goo immediately started to drag her to the slime, but only until my giant Mana bolt traveled the whole way and hit it. Engulfing the majority of the monster topside in a bright light.

Then it exploded.

**Arcane sneak attack leveled up!**

Bits of acidic slime splashed everywhere, changing the layout of the area even more. For the first time, the monster completely lost it's Minon façade, seemly going limp, and liquid enough for the real Minon to detach herself and roll away from its reach.

"YEAH Master! That's how you do it!" The cowgirl cheered, pupping her hammer up in the air. The movement caused her large breasts to bounce a little too heavily and snap the already fragile constraint of her metal bikini top, not that she cared.

"Look alive, Minon. It isn't over yet!" I warned as what was left of the monster began to stir again.

There is nothing like breaking your opponent's illusion of invincibility to boost your moral. Now that we clearly managed to do a considerable about of damage, I could notice things I wasn't registering before, like the fact the slime was regenerating slower and slower, or how it doesn't seem to maintain its Minon-shape during a constant barrage. Now that I knew the monster wasn't simply shrugging what I threw at it, I could focus on _winning._

Thus the same strategy was repeated, and this time I don't intend to stop until I'm out of mana.

However, this time the thing surprised us by literally reshaping a hole over its torso to let the oversized mana bolt fly past.

Shit, it's not _completely_ stupid.

While it staggered back from one of Minon's power strikes, I launched another oversized mana bolt, only to see it retracting its head to let it past. This confirms that yep, it had figured out our most dangerous attack and now was actively working to doubt it.

"Minon, I need you to distract it for a minute!" I cried out while running further away across the ruble.

"I'll do my best, minon!" Was her response, but I didn't turn to look.

Finding a still mostly standing building on the edge of the battlefield, I hunkered down inside, killing a few vagrant slimes that had been attracted by the fight along the way.

Propping my back to a wall near a window where I could watch how Minon's efforts went, I activated my meditation skill. While the extra points had made it much easier to manifest bolt of that size and had allowed me to make way more than I could before, it was still very tasking on my MP. I could reliably use three and continue fighting, four would leave me all but empty, and as I was already a third of the way out when I started tugging them. I had to recharge.

Thinking through my labored breath was easier while I was meditating, numbing the sounds around me, I thought back on the fight, seeing what I could improve, and how I could put more damage in.

The big problem was speed; while a typical mana bolt was fairly fast; an oversized one was much slower, the difference was like a baseball and a basketball being thrown from the same distance, one you can only fully see if you train your eyes for it. The other you could easily get out of the way if you're paying attention, and as the monster had singled me out as the biggest damage dealer, it would definitely pay attention to whatever I did.

So either I fire at point-blank, or I do something about the speed… basketball and… baseball…

…

It was… _so _freaking obvious.

With the boost of inspiration carrying me, I jumped out of the window and ran back to the center of the fight, ignoring the growing numbers of slimes around me.

"Oi Minon, I got-!"

"Ahn~!"

Err-what?

It seems the boss had finally managed to pin Minon down and dissolve the lower half of her bikini armor… and then I finally got to see what happened when a slime finishes melting a woman's clothes, as the battle turned into a _very_ different kind of 'fight'.

Shaking my mind of one of the hottest hentai scenes I ever saw, I capitalized on the monster's distraction to send another oversized mana bolt at it, aiming for the top size so as not to hit poor Minon at the bottom.

The gelatinous mass instantly leaped back with unnatural movements, not even trying to form its humanoid half. Crap; it was still focused.

The impact still exploded a considerable about of ruble on the side, though, and it had the happy coincidence of showering its rubble over the monster. It wouldn't damage it, but it would slow it down a bit.

I couldn't let this opportunity pass.

Letting my baseball bat fall out of my inventory, I stead it in a tight grip and let my mana cloak its metallic form. Next, I formed a giant mana bolt, making sure to give it a solid surface like that experiment from before I fought the monster version of Minon.

And the rest was the logical conclusion.

_"HORA!"_

The beach-sized ball of magical destruction _flew_ over the broken street like a bullet, fully engulfing the debris-covered slime in its bright. I'd like to think that if the thing had eyes, they would have widened, it was a thought that would give me pleasant dreams later.

_***BOOM!* **_

The explosion resonated across the area, the biggest one yet. Like the impact and acceleration had increased the spell's destructive power somehow.

But I didn't stop there. Not giving a chance for the thing to recover, I repeated the process two more times, leaving just enough mana for an emergency action I case I needed to back off. The following spheres, each_ bigger_ than the previous one, cut a bright trail through the smoke before they too popped in twin explosion just as volatile and destructive.

I waited until the dust settled so I could confirm it with my own eyes. The greenish liquid was painting all around the vast crater like the scene of a massacre, not a hint of consistency or mass was left; a slime only goes fully liquid if it's a part that was forcefully severed from the main body…

Or if it was dead.

I sighed, finally lowering my guard-

Oh crap!

"Minon!" I exclaimed, quickly kneeling down to the prone cowgirl. "Are you alright!?"

I wanted to slap myself for the stupid question. Of course, she wasn't! It only occurred to me now, out of the heat of the battle, that the little show from early might not have been entirely consensual. Oh god, what she must be feeling—

"GAH!" She sat up abruptly, hitting my face with her horn by consequence. "Master! I didn't lose, minon!"

"Wh-What?" I try to make my mind stop swirly, _really_ wasn't expecting the horn-slap.

"I didn't lose! The bitch kept pounding away at my cunt and my ass, but I didn't cum even once, no matter how she worked for it!" She opened a bright smile, pumping her fist in the air and making her smile-covered breasts jiggle. "VICTORY FOR MINON!"

I opened my mouth… and then closed.

I… At least she wasn't traumatized or something, non-con experiences are only fun in hentai and fantasies.

"Now, where is the bitch at, master!? I got to finish smashing her!"

"Ah." Seeing my summon enthusiastically going on all fours for her warhammer, I got back to my feet. "I dealt with her."

She paused as she grasped the weapon, looking back from for waging tail and inviting rump. "Really? Awesome master! That bitch was really tough." Using the butt of her weapon, she prompted herself back up, immediately going. "VICTORY FOR MASTER!" When she was on her feet.

God, it's almost like the violation had lifted her mood even more for some reason.

… Least I'd know what to do when she's feeling down, hogtie her and throw her naked in a pit of slimes.

I chuckled at my own joke and the cowgirl's endless enthusiasm. Without an enemy to focus on, the tiredness of the day dawned back over my shoulders. "Come on, Minon, let's find Rin and get out of here."

"Ah master, shouldn't we smash the little ones while we're here?"

Huh? The little ones- Oh the nearby slimes that were attracted by the fight, I don't think they would be a problem; I was about to erase this barrier after all.

Then… I noticed something… important.

The slimes aren't attacking us.

No, instead, they're wandered mindlessly past us in the cheerful hops of theirs, moving directly into… into the crate.

… This does not bode well.

A greenish, gelatinous hand suddenly surged from the deeps, menacingly gripping the edge of the crate with splashy grip. The greenish hue of the hand slowly turning pink.

Oh yeah, this did not bode well at all.

What rose from the crater wasn't the boss slime we were fighting until recently, it wasn't a green mass of ooze with a half-melted humanoid form jutting out of it. What came out was a pink colored, perfect replication of Minon, up to her smallest details, from the horns, the hair, the nipples, the genitals, and even her blank expression; all could be seen from the variation in pink tone from the new monster's body.

Pupiless eyes turned to our direction, followed by a twisting a beauty into a smile that could fit most horror movies.

**Slime Queen  
Level: 40**

Great, it fucking evolved.

"She is back!" Minon cried out the obvious. She sounded almost happy. "Ohhh, this one is _really_ tough! Let's make sure to smash her real good this time!"

I shook my head with a sigh. Still, Minon's enthusiasm and determination are self-assuring, and she is right, in a way, this is a fight with can't really run from, so the only option is indeed 'smash her real good'. Sure her level is daunting to look at, but we managed to snatch a relatively easy victory from a level 30 version of it, so I reckon it's manageable.

With these thoughts in mind, I bent my knees and formed a banishing version of a Mana Bolt, first I would throw her away to buy some time and recharge while—

_*Slin* _

It was an… odd noise, a combination of a buzz and a hiss, with a strange metallic note hanging afterward.

In one moment, Minon and I were bracing to face the creepily smiling, level 40 Slime Queen. Then, there was a bright blue-white line seemly made of light stretching from between us to the horizon of the imitation city, piercing the slime queen in the middle of her large breasts… right at her core.

I smelled the briefest hint of ozone before the line blinked out of existence like it was never there in the first place. The slime queen stood still for a second before liquefying into a pink puddle.

I… trying to work slacked my jaw. Was she dead? But it was so abruptly! What the heck just happened?

My mind had just finished processing that the enemy with the highest visible level I've met was terminated like a schmuck. When a soft, feminine voice echoed from behind us.

"Waga Aruji-sama…"

Oooh I know that voice, I have precious memories if it softly moaning my name and trying not to gasp.

Uehara Rin walked up to us with delicate steps over the broken gravel; her naked form seems to gleam in the mist, a thin layer of mucus making her look oiled and ready, her lengthy hair was swept back and wholly glued to the skin of her back, and her breasts, the mammoth pair jiggled slightly with each step, erect tips confessing her arousal or coldness, everything about her seems natural, perfectly controlled, and deliciously sensual.

When she deemed close enough, she gracefully knelt down, placing an arm over her leg and bowing her head, a perfect example of a kunoichi addressing her lord.

"The target was eliminated Aruji-sama, this useless ones humbly beg for forgiveness from her momentary inaction."

…

No.

It can't be.

For the first time, I've seen both the meek Rin and the sexy Rin at once; I see her changing and…

Just… Every time she appears one way, she… when she is her meek self, she's… and when she is the badass Yamado Nadesiko she's…

A tiny patch of fabric fell from the side of her left breast, the last piece of cloth over her whole form.

"Your personality changes… _according to your state of dress!?"_

It wasn't really a question or even a declaration; it was_ incredulity in word form_.

Rin's reaction manifested as a small tilt of her still bowing head, demonstrating her confusion.

"Ah… What… That was _awesome!" _Minon finally caught up with us. "_You're_ awesome! That bitch was _so_ strong before, and she seemed even stronger now, and you just… just!" The cowgirl turned her blushing, smiling face towards me. "Master, permission to fuck this woman!" She asked, pointing at the kneeling kunoichi.

_"What!?"_ I choked, my continued incredulousness growing ever stronger. "Why are you even-No!"

"Permission to sit on her face!" She presses on after my denial.

I blinked. _"No, _Minon."

"… Permission to have _her_ sit on my face?"

"…Waga Aruji-sama." I snapped my wide eyes at Rin. "This one regrets to inform you that great pain shall befall your noble shikigami if she continues this indecent line of questions."

That's it; I threw my hand in the air

_"Fuck it!_ That's enough headaches for me today! You figure… whatever the fuck this is out among yourselves. I gonna take a breather!"

Maybe it was not as smart idea to leave the horny cow with the naked kunoichi when she's in her efficient killer form, but I didn't care—too many shenanigans for one day. I'm calling quits!

Besides, there is something else that got my attention, something other than bickering, naked women.

The innocuous buddle objects in the pink puddle left behind by the slime queen.

A pouch with a large number of notes and coins, a transparent slime core with a hole right in the center, and more important of all, a small, purple book with a weird symbol on the cover which I spare no time picking it up.

**You have found a Skill Book!  
Do you wish to learn a new skill?  
Yes/No.**

Now, _this._ This got potential.

Lots of it.

* * *

A/note: What's the difference between a skill book and a book? A book is a written thing that give out knowledge, a skill book is a piece of gamer bullshitery that gives out new skills. Skill books are a special type of Loot that don't drop often, only with bosses or very high level monsters.

Just wrapping up the day, I got to confess I wrote myself into a small corner when I made Minon died two chapters back, I couldn't move on without showing what happened, and it wouldn't make sense for Hiroshi to just left it like that.

Good news the day is finally over and we can move on now, so next chapter will be a few days time skip as it should be.

Seriously I'll try to speed the pace a little bit, we barely started on Ranma and I want to write more about the fun stuff it's bound to happen!

Chapter 10 Preview: Sexy leotards! Cats! L-Lewd?! _Ohohohohohoh!_ OH MY!

Also, chapter 10 it will be where the Ranma 1/2's canon start taking hits, the poor thing have no chance.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

It was still cold and dark as I made my way upstairs. Even though the shadows were dimming with the advance of the rising sunlight, 4:00 a.m still an ungodly hour for anyone to be awake.

I stifled a yawn and stead on; it's impolite to complain about the little inconveniences if the results only bring me benefits.

The low building of my apartment provided us with a nice, squared space in the form of its rooftop, with only the entrance base jutting out from the corner. Because the place was unlocked, and because the only other tenant remaining was the nice, near-deaf landlady, Rin and I claimed it as our training spot.

"G-Good morning Aruji-sama!" The kunoichi spoke, her voice cracking with a little stutter; she was kneeling in the middle of the roof, wearing a modest white blouse and a long skirt. I immediately noticed the reason for her stutter.

"Rin, the jacket," I informed her as I approached.

"Oh." She jerked a look to her shoulder, seemly surprised by the new addition. "Right, this one apologizes." She said while taking it off.

"All three of them, Rin." I insisted while I knelt before her.

"Ghk!... T-This hopeless one apologizes further."

It was surprisingly easy to keep Rin with a modicum of competence. Numerous testing showed that she functions just fine both in day to day life and in combat if she actually wore the usual amount of clothes a person was expected to wear, but the problem was that her quirk inexplicable let her find and put on clothes without her even realizing she's doing it, and it really did border on the supernatural given that she could pick up pieces of clothes in places where they shouldn't be any. In any case, we found that if there is someone watching out for her habit, she could function just fine, the problem arises if she stays alone for too long as it would undoubtedly lead to her gathering new clothes which would bring forth the adorable, but stammering and useless Rin.

There was a single exception to this, but she only wore that garb when it was absolutely necessary.

"So." She began after a calming breath, no longer carrying any stutter yet not possessing that almost unnatural grace and control she does when fully naked, a happy medium between the two. "Aruji-sama has managed to learn the basic of Kuji-in, and had memorized the _neio_ script. Both feats that would normally require weeks of dedication."

I nodded, hearing her saying like that left me somewhat sheepish; all my progress can be attributed to the gamer system quantifying the skills and giving it to me in tangible form as level-ups. I still needed to practice, but the results of my efforts were more precise and evident than they would be for anyone else short of a once in a generation genius. As for the neio script— the weird ninja text she tasked me with memorizing— I simply absorbed the book, carving the knowledge in my mind forever.

This is to show that no matter how different it is from a 'normal' version, a gamer power is always a cheat.

"Given the speed of your progress, and your superb control over your internal energies is, this one wager we can start studying some basic jutsu."

I nodded again, feeling a buddle of anticipation flaring in my chest. Jutsu aren't the world-shaking spells that were shown in Naruto; in this reality, they are more like ninja cantrips, a combination of magic, rituals, and technique that can produce useful but minor effects on the world, effects that could be deadly if used correctly. They need much more than simply making a series of handseals and throw energy around… Well, they _did_ need that, but they also needed ingredients, time, conditions, and even mantras to activate. When fighting or on a mission, every jutsu in a ninja arsenal has been prepared beforehand, kinda like a wizard spell from Dnd.

Justu are the closest thing a ninja have to magic, Rin told me, and Taimanin in particular use less justu than a normal ninja; their primary weapon is their bloodline power, and most of their training is skewed towards strengthening it or finding better application for it. She told me that for this reason, there won't be much she could do for me after a certain point, but it didn't matter, as I am now every bit and piece of advantage would help, especially if it was something I could add to my limited arsenal.

"P-Please watch closely, Aruji-sama. This one will demonstrate the correct application of _neio _as a foundation for justu." My Taimanin leaned closer and took a familiar purple scroll from the pocket of her bulky fur jacket, spreading it over the ground while she settles an old-school brush and inkstone on the side. The Japanese part of my brain was overjoyed for the eminent calligraphy display. The more practical side wondered if an ink pen would suffice.

Still. "Jacket, Rin."

"Gah!"

Chuckling at her blushing face, I settle forwards to watch her scribble in the magical ninja language, eager to actually see it work after days of just _knowing_ about it… wait a second.

That scroll is really familiar. I wonder where did I see it… wait I think there is something—

It was still cold and dark as I made my way upstairs. Though the shadows were dimming with the advance of the rising sunlight, 4:00 a.m still an ungodly hour for anyone to be awake.

I stifled a yawn and stead on; it's impolite to complain about the little pain that only bring me benefits.

The low building of my apartment provided us with a nice, squared space in the form of its rooftop, usually, with only the entrance base jutting out from the course. As it was unlocked and the only other tenant of this place remaining being the nice, deaf landlady, Rin and I claimed it as our training ground.

"G-Good morning Aruji-sama!" The kunoichi spoke, her voice crackly with a little stutter; she was kneeling in the middle of the roof, wearing a yellow shirt and jeans. I immediately noticed the reason for her stutter.

"Rin, the jacket," I informed her as I approached.

"Oh." She jerked a look downwards, seemly surprised by the new addiction. "Right, this one apologizes." She said while taking it off.

"All three of them, Rin." I insisted while I knelt before her.

"Ah! T-This hopeless one apologizes further."

It was surprisingly easy to keep Rin with a modicum of competence, numerous testing showed that she function just fine both in day to day life and in combat if she actually wore the average amount of clothes a person was expected to wear…Wait, why did I say jacket? Rin was wearing several rows of additional scarfs rather than jackets. Had I become so used to this particular pair that I… No wait there is something—

It was still cold and dark as I made my way upstairs. Though the shadows were dimming with the advance of the rising sunlight, 4:00 a.m still an ungodly hour for anyone to be awake.

I stifled a yawn and stead on, and then I stopped in the middle of the stairs.

Panic made me choke on a breath that had risen over my throat, but I gulp it down, steeling myself, focusing on my determination instead—

"G-Good morning Aruji-sama!" The kunoichi spoke, her voice crackly with a little stutter; she was kneeling in the middle of the roof, wearing a modest white blouse and a long skirt. I immediately noticed the reason for her stutter.

"Rin, the skirts," I informed her as I approached. Popping my lips together.

Right, I have to concentrate.

With a deep breath, I brought my hands forwards—

"So." She began after a calming breath, no longer carrying any stutter yet not possessing that almost unnatural grace and control, a happy medium between the two. "Aruji-sama has managed to learn the basic of Kuji-in, and had memorized the _neio_ script. Both feats that would normally require weeks of dedication."

Yes, Kuji-in, the art of handseals, they are nothing like what is shown in Naruto… ok, they are _somewhat _like what it was shown in Naruto, but only in the matter of energy manipulation. A proper Handseal is actually a type of advance meditation that borders on self impose hypnosis, when you master it you can condition your internal energies to flow in certain patterns by just by twitching your fingers a certain way, without needing to reach down and consciously manipulate it yourself, more advance techniques even allow a person to momentarily shatters their body's usual limits and allow for devastating blows.

But why was I thinking about it again?

Oh yeah—

"G-Good morning Aruji-sama!" The kunoichi spoke, her voice crackly with a little stutter; she was kneeling in the middle of the roof, wearing a modest blue sundress. "Hum? Ano, what's wrong?" She asked, seeming me raising a one-handed dragon seal.

"Jōka," I said loudly—

_It was 4 am in the stairway leading up to the rooftop, but the world was simmering now, undulating like the air in a heated desert. _

_I still hold the dragon handseal mend to sharp the connection between the outer and inner self, this reality I'm being shown no longer has any hold on me._

_I go back eventually, maybe in the next second, or the next minute, but why wait? _

_I raised my hand in the ram seal._

_"Kai."_

-0-0-0-

I snapped my eyes open with a gasp, pulling an uneven breath while my mind began to process reality around me.

I was sitting in the center of my building's rooftop. The sun gliding over my back. A chilly wind hushing past informed me that my clothes were wet with sweat, the overwhelming scent of incense told me that there was quite a lot of it lit around somewhere, or at least that there were many close to me given the intensity of the smell even in an open space, that might also explain the swirls of the air that I would've certainly given more focus to if my vision wasn't overtaken by blue notices.

**Internal Mana Control leveled up!**

**Ninjutsu mastery leveled up!**

**Kuji-in mastery leveled up!**

**New Skill Created: Illusion Resistance.  
**_**Increases your natural resistance against Illusions and Illusionary phenomenon, takes less damage from Illusionary attacks.**_

**Illusion Resistance leveled up!**

**Illusion Resistance leveled up!**

**Illusion Resistance leveled up!**

Letting out another breath, I lean back and try to move away the stiffness of my muscles, my left leg bumped-Yep, there are incenses all right, a whole bunch of them scattered around me, along with several open strolls with neio scripts written in them.

"Impressive," Rin said from somewhere behind me. "This one didn't think you'd be able to get out on your own. Once again, Aruji-sama exceeds my expectations."

I placed an arm over my eyes, leaning back more while popping the bones along my spine. Fucking hell, I didn't even realize… no, wait, my recent memories are coming back; they're all mushy and hazy, but I can remember the lesson now.

"What was that?" I asked it came out partly in the form of a complaint even though I was the one who asked for a demonstration. Being locked in a groundhog day loop of your own mind's creation is not a very fun experience, plus, it was terrifying.

"Genjustu, an illusion. The smoke stimulates the brain, opening it up to suggestions while slowing its neural connection, the text directs the ambient magic to the target, where it gets inhaled along with the smoke, the handseals and the effort of the cast would already shape the energy in its initial activation, so the rest was a matter of setting up more incenses after Aruji-sama fell for it to strengthen the effect." I heard her walking past me. She's wearing high heels. She wasn't when we started this morning. "The illusion is one of the target's own making."

"Evidently." I gasped, massaging my temples. "But when the hell did you manage to trap me in!? I didn't see you make any handseal or do any preparations."

"It would go against the heart of the matter if Aruji-sama had noticed." Was her simple reply.

…True, this justu lesson, from learning how complex they are, how diligent one has to be on their preparation, then finishing by showing that even then they don't have to be _obvious_ because ninjas are fucking sneak bastards. Truly a wonderful lesson.

Finally, I open my eyes to stare at the Taimanin who went back to kneeling in front of me-Ah.

"Aruji-sama is the first person I know off that broke the illusion on their own, as expected of Aruji-sama." She nods to herself, a tiny movement that fits the oddly serene air that hung around her, the sunlight glistering on her skin along with the songs of the morning birds making her appear almost transcendent.

She was wearing her Taimanin uniform; the strappy, leopard-like outfit that clung tightly to her impressive curves and somehow looked more erotic fully repaired than it did when it was damaged, it was the only outfit she could maintain without unconsciously searching for more clothes, ironically as it left her practically naked.

But more importantly, she wouldn't wear her uniform for no reason.

"You have a new mission."

She didn't answer, just calmly stare into my eyes; her silence was enough.

This was not unexpected; even though she swore herself to be didn't mean her responsibilities with the Taimanin corp has ended. Rin was still part of the active taimanin roister, so receiving more missions was just a matter of time.

But now… things are different, and Rin isn't just a random taimanin anymore, she certainly isn't a character behind a screen.

I know very well what happens to a taimanin if she fails her mission.

"… I don't want you to go." I admitted.

"If that is Aruji-sama's wish, then I won't." She replied immediately.

I let out a breath. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." She closes her eyes. It's hard to read her when she is like this, she moves like a geisha experience enough to make it look natural, and those women are masters in controlling body language. "Aruji-sama words are absolute… However, there is something Aruji-sama must know."

I shifted forwards, setter my legs under me again. Even I could sense the gravity of her words.

"What?" I asked.

"A taimanin is loyal to her master and the corp, but for her to have a master, she must have the corp's approval. Aruji-sama has not been approved by the corp." She explains. "This one has yet to break any rules, thus have not gathered attention to herself. Meaning that Aruji-sama's existence is yet to be discovered." Her eyes open again; they were gleaming with serene determination. "If this one refuses a mission, she would be investigated, which could put Aruji-sama in danger."

I was wondering how this whole pledge thing worked. It made me frown.

"So what? You plan to continue on as always, but this time as an excuse to protect me? If it's like that, what was the point of the pledge then?"

Rin shook her head curtly, her shoulder stiffening a little bit. "Aruji-sama is my Aruji-sama, this one will follow your decision in the end, and will give her life to protect you if it comes to it, this one is merely informing Aruji-sama about the situation."

…

…Goddamn it.

Rin is right to tell me this. She wanted to make clear that if I keep her from going, we would be pissing off the taimanin corp. Can't I afford that?... No, between Rin and myself, we are not strong enough to take on an entire ninja organization, especially if there are more taimanin with the level similar to Rin running around. Even if we add Ranma to the mix, I don't think we have a chance.

I tapped my fingers on my knee.

"What is the nature of this mission?" I asked.

"Escort, with secondary objective of target elimination." She answered immediately.

I blinked at the speed and ease of her reply. She just gonna give me the presumably classified information if I ask, isn't she? My mind immediately when on a possible spying tangent before focusing back.

"Give me details."

"This Taimanin must escort and protect the politician Toranosuke Yoshida during a Cabinet party that is scheduled to happen four days from now. While there this Taimanin must eliminate the cabinet members Tengan Noriyori, Takagaki Senichi, Yokoi Kosami, and Ebisawa Kosho and make it so their murder wouldn't be discovered until the 7th of July. This Taimanin will be accompanied by a veteran taimanin and a new recruit. Together they will prepare the stage beforehand and plan the finer details of the operation accordingly. The probability of demon involvement is zero or close to, and the reason for the high number of operatives dedicated to this mission is for the importance of the client, and the amount paid," She definitely added the last part for my benefit.

This isn't like the missions I saw Taimanin get captured, she won't be fighting any demons, and she won't be alone. 'Course there is always the possibility that everything blows up on her face and there are demons galore there. But at this point, I'm just searching for a reason.

There are not really a lot of options there, plus there isn't any 'bad end' quest popping up at the prospect, so… I decided to trust her.

"Very well. You may go." I conceded.

Rin's shoulder relaxed a little bit, then she leans her upper body forward, brushing the tip of her finger on the ground while giving me an elegant bow and a show of cleavage.

"Thank you very much. Waga Aruji-sama—"

Uehara Rin while in this state is a very charming creature. Not only her mannerisms and the way she carries herself because almost ethereal, but the display of elegance is usually accompanied by arousing show of nudity or near-nudity. I can see many people being thrown off by that, many being paralyzed by the sight.

So she's not used to people being able to move freely while she's like this. That's why when I silently approached her and interrupted her bow with a brush on her cheek she let out a quiet hiccup of surprise.

I didn't even need to force it; she dutifully followed as I moved my hand up, pulling her back to a straight position where she regarded me calmly.

Then I kissed her.

The small squeak made me smile against her lips just before I deepened the contact. Pushing my body closer while I hungrily breathe her scent and taste her lips, my arms reach out possessively around her waist.

Rin moaned, her body relaxing against mine while her hands unconsciously gripped the fabric of my shirt, she opened her mouth to dutifully receive my tongue, and greet it with her own.

For a while, we just… make out, right then and there, I sat back at some point, but I brought her with me, making the beautiful latex-covered ninja sprawl her body over mine.

To tell the truth, I don't really know what that makes us. I call her my ninja because she calls me her master, I touch her, kiss her and, grope her because I want to, sometimes because my teenage hormones overwhelm my senses, and she is so damn receptive that we never really stop to talk about the precise nuances of our relationship, we just kinda get it.

A went trail clung between us as we separated, Rin looked at me with eyes swirling in passion, hair slightly disheveled, lips partly open letting out little buffs that turned to mist in the cold morning air. Just _enchanting._

"You come back to me," I commanded.

"Hai, Aruji-sama." She whispers in response.

And just like that, she was gone, slipping out of my arms in a disappearing blur that I could barely make out while it speeds through the rooftops.

I was alone on the roof again, looking at the place she had gone. At some point, I realize how late it was.

"I'm going to be late for school," I stated to nobody in particular.

Of course, I didn't care about that. I had more important things to worry about.

That's why when I stepped out to the streets with a new layer of gel in my hair and the immaculate furinkan uniform over my refreshed body, I turn to the opposite direction of my usual route.

As it became clear today, the Taimanin Corp still hangs over Rin's head; even if she doesn't want to, she has to follow their command otherwise she risks them discovering her illegal and still very vulnerable master. I can understand that logic, but the problem is, I don't want my taimanin anywhere close to rape demons if I can help it, at least without me there by her side making sure silly hentai tropes don't fuck her over.

But as I'm now, I don't have options. I'm just one man. I can't go against an entire ninja organization by myself. Sure, with the gamer, I will eventually be able to, but this won't happen for at least a few many months.

So_ I _don't have any options… but maybe _Ōe Hiroshi_ have… at least enough for me to make a gamble.

A gamble I was willing to make, for Rin.

I stop by a public payphone and slide a 500-yen coin in, quickly pushing the numbers I had memorized on the very first day of my new life.

The call was taken on the second ring, but no one spoke a word.

I could feel the temperature dropping a little bit, producing a chill that ran deeply across my spine, I have no idea if that actually happened, or if it was just a psychological response.

Ōe Hiroshi knew the man on the other line his entire life. And he always _creep him the fuck up. _

But I'm not that whiny boy he used to be.

"It's me, Hayate," I said.

"… Young master?" I could practically _hear_ the sharp, light-blue colored eyebrow raising; this must be the first time he heard my voice without me stuttering like a schoolgirl in a horror flick. "My my, what a wonderful surprise. We were expecting your call _days _ago."

"I didn't call to _complain_." I had to take a calming breath. Fuck! The voice of the Ōe family's head butler, leader of the financial team, leader of the legal team, commander of private army, and thousands other scary titles this hyper-competent fuck has under his name was creepier than what I remember. "I'm going straight to the point; do you know about the Taimanin?"

"Oh dear! It appears young master finally started living in interesting times, as expected of one from the Ōe bloodline, ku ku ku ku."

He didn't need to chuckle. The chuckle made it all worst. And what was that suffering whine in the background? It sounds like someone dying—and now it abruptly ended.

Was…Was this a good idea?

-0-0-0-

"Good morning, Ōe-san!" A trio of girls greeted me as we cross paths. They giggled at my confused reply as they left.

Oi…

"Ossu!" Some guy saluted me from his place leaning over one of the corridor's windows. Another random dude gave me a silent nod minutes later.

Wait a minute…

"Hey! Hey man, here's your notes back, really saved my ass." Another guy from my class handed me the notebook that I vaguely remember lending to him early this morning.

Something's wrong here…

"Not with Saotome today, Ōe-san?" A guy laughed.

Isn't everybody being a little too friendly!?

The first thought the crossed my mind was mind-controlling drugs, then I considered some kind of mass hypnotic event, then some manner of parallel world shenanigans; all valid possibilities when dealing with the craziness that was Ranma ½. Luckily, my common sense pointed out that this was not a singular event; throughout the week, the Furinkan's student body has been slowly warming up to me for some weird reason.

I've been too focused on secretly protecting the girls of the Rhythmic Gymnastics club to notice— _Secretly, _because of an incident on the first day involving the girls' locker room, a bored cowgirl monster, a plate of chocolate pancakes, and an angry Tendo Akane that almost got us killed by a crowd of half-naked girls with plot-armor— but today my focus was divided between the girls and the butler-shaped doom I may have unleashed upon Nerima, so in my confusion, I managed to see it; for some reason, I wasn't the scary, unapproachable delinquent anymore.

Honestly, I can't tell what changed.

"My, my, thank you, young man. My back isn't what it used to be." Said the old-ass janitor as I handed the mop back to him and collected the Exp of this little side-quest. This guy really needs to retire if he's gonna keep getting cramps this bad.

A few steps later, I stumbled into another side-quest in the form of the class prez struggling to carry a pile of documents. Having a bit of time, and not caring about making who I agreed to meet wait; I moved to help her out.

This was an awful time to make that phone call. I'm already on edge because of Rin's mission and the fact that the Rhythmic Gymnastics club will be without ninja protection for a while, so adding a bunch of childhood traumas to the mix was making me positively jittering.

Ranma's right, I am obsessing over this a little too much.

I let out the excess tension through puff of air and tried to concentrate on other things— like everybody's sudden friendless.

"Thank you very much, Ōe-san." Class prez said formally but with a smile on her face, an actual freaking smile. Shit, a few days ago this girl was whispering around her group of friends while casting worried glances in my direction.

Weird.

After that, I stumbled my way from brief side quest to brief side quest until I was out of the building and the First Years' dominated areas. With fewer people recognizing me, I managed to make my way to the sport field in the back of the school, right in the middle of an intense soccer game.

A few students watched from the grassy slope around the fields, including the one I was to meet.

"You're late." Complained the pretty girl with chocolate brown hair as I approached. Though the sarcastic look told me she was expecting it. "I almost left, you know."

"You're the one who called me here. It'd be your loss." I countered.

Now, I know that the reality I'm living in is different from the Ranma ½ anime; there are too many inconsistences, tiny differences, and small nuances to be the same. So while everyone I've met does act remarkably like their anime counterparts, they are not_ exactly_ the same. Because of that, I decided not to judge people too heavily by my metaknowledge, and instead form my opinion as I get to know them better.

Tendo Nabiki, however, is a special case. I vaguely remember an interview where the authoress straight off said that Nabiki is the one Ranma1/2 character she considers truly evil, and years and years of fanfics portraying her as literally the devil had me a bit apprehensive when it came to dealing with the girl.

As things stand… I've not interacted with her enough to form a concrete image. Going by first impressions alone, I'd said she's a laid back girl who's very aware of her way-above-average looks and is not afraid to use it. She has yet to show any of her worst qualities. I mean, she did come off as a little greedy in our first meeting, but considering the subject discussed it was only natural.

This is our third meeting, the first one _she_ called me for. I admit I couldn't keep the thoughts of debts and blackmail from popping up in my head even though she held literally zero sway over me.

"Come on don't be like that, Ōe-kun." Nabiki smiled, climbing to her feet and patting the back of her skirt. "Ah, you're not with Ranma today."

"I'm not his babysitter; the guy can function without me."

She giggled, "You wouldn't think that, the way he talks about you."

Yeaaah, I'mma call bullshit on that. Despite seeing like the boisterous, open type, at Ranma is actually a pretty private guy. There is a possibility that he talked about me, but I doubt it is how Nabiki implied.

Fishing for information, hum? That… surprisingly made me relax a bit. Tendo Nabiki is acting like Tendo Nabiki would; I guess the expectation was freaking me out more than reality.

"You want to talk to me, Tendou-senpai?"

She cocked her head to the side in a cute display. Her casual smile started to turn into a smirk.

"Senpai?" She chuckled, "You're a lot more formal than you appear, Ōe-kun."

Japanese formality can be used as a distraction and a weapon, especially if you don't particularly care about it. It's an excellent way to surprise and control a conversation. I was about to comment on this when I decided on a "Does that have anything to do to what you wanted to talk to me about, senpai?" Instead.

Got to work a hell of a lot more if you want to get me talking, sweetie.

"You're no fun." She said, almost pouting. I think she'd realized I could just leave if she presses too much.

And just like that, she straightened her back and dropped her smile, her expression still casual and in control, but the air she gave was a lot more professional.

"Remember our deal? I have some new information that might interest you." She said.

"Let me guess, Kuno Kodachi's gonna hunt down and attack the gym girls tonight, isn't she," I commented with a shrug. "Feels like something she would do."

My plan to protect the Rhythmic Gymnastics club was simple; get Nabiki to tell me all she knew about Kodachi, her methods, and the teams she'd previously attacked, then give this information to Rin and have her protect them. Ranma and I would be patrolling the sidelines in case something else happened. It turned out like this after the first day when I realized doing everything on my own and almost getting killed and branded a pervert for it wasn't going to cut it. It worked, and Rin spent the time she wasn't with me disarming various traps and making sure the girls got home safely.

I can't imagine all these failed attempts were good to Kodachi's inflated ego, so taking matters into her own hands was only a matter of time.

Nabiki grinned, "Oh yeah, this is certainly something she would have done..." She spoke slowly, not even being subtle.

I considered the girl for a long moment before clicking my tongue.

"Alright, what is it?"

"Ah, ah, ah." She intoned, deliberately showing her open hand.

Of course.

At this point it's impossible to stay under Nabiki's radar. I sincerely doubt she won't look up who I am, if she wasn't already, and knowing what she's like, she wouldn't simply let me be after figuring out my family was the very definition of _filthy rich_. So I pulled up one of my spare wallets and made no attempt to hide the multiple notes of 10k yen as I pulled one of them.

Oh yeah, that's what I call a _hungry_ look.

"Thank you~." She sing-songed, picking the 10k between her fingers, her current grin realer than any of the smiles she showed to me before.

In a second, she was on my side, leaning close as if to tell me a particularly juicy gossip, she even did the whole hand-to-mouth thingy.

I didn't miss the way her soft curves brushed against me, and I doubt she did.

"Ne, ne Ōe-kun. You know about Kodachi's teammates of the St. Hebereke's School's Rhythmic Gymnastics club, right? Aonuma Katsu, Naegi Mayumi, Nishioka Azusa, and Ose Sachi." She paused a second for dramatic flare. "All of them have been admitted to the hospital over these last couple of days."

Hold on.

What?

"What?" I put my surprise into words.

"That's what I heard. Naegi Mayumi, Kodachi's second, was admitted just yesterday. All of them showed sights of extreme exhaustion, but there weren't any injuries or even signs of overexertion." I was only half hearing Nabiki's report at this point.

There is something wrong here: Furinkan's team should have been the one hospitalized; that was the whole point of me protecting them. They would've been incapacitated, and then called Akane for help, kicking off the entire arc, I didn't even consider Kodachi's team…

Has this happened in canon? Akane and Kodachi's fight was a 1-v-1 after all, maybe— wait no, Kodachi's team was there, right beneath the ring, if I remember correctly, helping her cheat. But how can that be when they are…

This goes against canon.

"What about Kodachi? Is she in the hospital too? Is she going to participate?"

Nabiki had a smile like a cat that cornered a particularly large canary.

"Hmm, I wonder…" She said, wiggling her now empty fingers.

Of fucking course.

I frowned, but before I could reply, the city of Nerima decided this was a jolly good time to pull a fast one on me.

"RANMA!"

And sent me an eternally lost annoyance dramatically shouting to the skies in the middle of the soccer field.

"Ah, it's that guy!" Nabiki blinked.

And that was just the time a soccer ball cut Ryoga's lamentation short. I sighed as I watched him going down.

"He's earlier than I was expecting," I mumbled under my breath before turning to Nabiki. "You should probably get Ranma. He is here for him, after all."

She raises an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"

"Girl, didn't you _hear_ him screaming. Anyway, I'mma make sure he doesn't hurt anyone." I said and began making my way towards the fallen boy.

I was pleased to see that the soccer team had more foresight than the crowd of students from when Ryoga first showed up; they were already evacuating the premises. Perhaps they heard a rumor or something, Ryoga's first appearance caused quite the stir.

"Hey, Hibiki Ryoga, right? You still alive down there?"

The martial artist stirred with the sound of my voice. He did look quite ragged now that I'm seeing him up close, maybe it was an –heh!— long trip.

His eyes _blazed_ when he noticed me.

_"You!" _

Wait what?

**New quest: Dealing with the lost boi.  
**_**Hibiki Ryoga has a bone to pick with you and will **_**literally**_** never stop until he does so. Deal with him now and spare yourself the stress!**_**  
Rewards: **

**1.000 exp.**

**Decrease closeness with Hibiki Ryoga.**

**Failure:**

**Injury or Critical Injury.**

**Decrease closeness with Hibiki Ryoga.**

**Accept/Refuse.**

_Wait What!?_

This was definitely _not _the time to have a gamer screen blocking my vision, as a rampaging Ryoga came barging through the screen in a full-body tackle that had all his weight and power behind it.

A little more than a week ago, about the time Ryoga first showed up, that would have fucked me up, I would've suffered the full brunt force of Hibiki Ryoga directly on my torso, and if that didn't outright kill me, it would definitely have put me out of commission.

But now it was a week later, a week of grinding, of no stop questing, of tireless martial art training and, more importantly, a week of level-ups.

You do not face The Gamer and expect him to be the same as a week ago.

My hands snapped forwards, and I gripped the lost boy's wrists in a vice grip, the only move I could make at such short distance. Sure, the guy's monstrous strength still meant I was pushed backward in a terrifyingly fast speed, but a little trick I got from pushing my _Endurance _above 50 ensured I kept my balance rather than being flattened by the guy.

**Perk: Stable posturing.  
**_**\+ 15% resistance against staggering. **_

Simple, wonderful, disgustingly effective.

Before Ryoga could change tactics, I took advantage of another wonderful little perk I've gotten from pushing past 50 _Agility_, and used my position and solid stance to smash my forehead directly against his, only to feint at the last second. Now, Ryoga was skilled enough to notice the trick, but he definitely didn't expect the honest-to-god after-image to continue forwards.

**Perk: Fake velocity.  
**_**\+ 10% chance of producing after-images.**_

Ryoga, like Ranma, wasn't used to dealing with after images that were created not by speed but by sheer gamer bullshitery, so he flinched. Exactly like Ranma had the first few times I used this tactic against him (Before he got used to it, the damn genius.)

I used that stumble to push into his guard, shifting my hold to one of his arms, and flipping him over my shoulder in a textbook perfect Judo-throw. The insane momentum that carried over only made the move more effective.

Ryoga hit the ground, _hard, _like, cracking concrete and blowing up dust hard. Of course, I _immediately_ felt him moving, so I let go of my hold to prompt his body to back away rather than push for a grabbling match that I had no illusion of winning.

He just started clambering to his feet, when I rocketed forwards again, capitalizing on his confusion to demonstrate my last, and by far, the most straightforward perk gained from passing 50 of _Strength._

**Perk: Athlete Body.  
**_**\+ 5 Str, +1 Cha **_

My fist cracked against Ryoga's jaw and made his whole head snap to the side with a meaty sound. After allowing myself a moment to revel in the fact I managed to _punch Hibiki Ryoga in the face_, I _immediately_ leap back, flipping my body in the precise, fast circles the Saotome's style uses to gain distance. There is no way he's going down with a single punch.

And sure enough, while he did stumble backward in two uneven steps and, to my immense satisfaction, his eyes went numb for a second as his brain rattled inside his skull, he soon regains his composure. He was now standing more alarm and more _dangerous_ than ever.

I could see his anger building up again, and this time it wasn't the kind of anger that would make him blindly leap on an attack, but it was just as intense.

Yeah, nope.

"_**STOP!"**_ I _shouted_ at the top of my lungs. Trying to make him double take with my sudden outburst. Thankfully, that was precisely what happened. "Alright then, would you please be so kind as to tell me _why in __**the motherfuckering fuck**__ are you attacking me!?"_

My tangle of Japanese sentences and English cursing gave him pause, but he soon set back into his furious glare.

"Silence, _thief!_ I've got nothing to say to you!" He growled.

"Thief!? I stole _nothing_ from you, cunt!"

"As if!" He snarled, throwing his arms from his stance in anger, before pointing an accusatory finger at me. _"You stole my umbrella!"_

… Realization clicked in my mind so hard it nearly made me stumble.

But it didn't make me any less angry.

Summoning my inventory screen, I flicked my wrist in a now familiar sleight of hand to make it seem like Ryoga's umbrella simply slid from my sleeves, hoping that the cheap trick would hold back his attack a few more seconds. With quick movements, I rolled Ryoga's ultra-heavy umbrella over my arms and torso in a display of skill, maneuvering it with a single hand most of the time.

I won't say I took advantage of every ounce of training I could from my time with the umbrella, but the results of what I did manage to train spoke for themselves. I certainly wasn't at the point where the thing weighted like a feather to me, but I could bear its full weight in a single arm and not only move around but also battle with it. Frankly, this fact still scares me sometimes, as back in my old world, this kind of weight was literally impossible for a normal human to bear.

The umbrella flipped on my side, opening with a low boom that shook some dust away, then, with a war cry, I launched the thing spinning towards Ryoga, just like he did when he first appeared.

Unlike then, it was none of its deadly precision, anyone could see that it would veer up midway, and pass harmlessly above the target before flipping to a stop, but precision was not the point. Ryoga caught the umbrella in a movement that mirrored my own when he put me in the exact circumstance.

"My move!" He barked. "You tried to copy my—"

"It was a _killing _move!" I snapped, the strength of my tone shutting the boy up. "Do you remember where you were when you used it, Hibiki Ryoga!? Let remind you: _A school courtyard."_ My teeth grind together. "Ranma would've been fine, me, I could've managed it, but the _people behind us,_how the fuck do you think they would've fared!?"

Ryoga paused as enough common sense finally pushed past his anger to have him consider my word. Then, to his immense credit, a flicker of honest shame flashed in his eyes.

I swear to god if it had been apathy, I would have attacked him and damn the consequences.

"I did not steal from you," I said, finally lowering my volume but keeping my tone firm. "After I stopped your attack, the umbrella simply stayed in my hand while you fought Ranma, got too much into it, and disappeared. I did not steal the umbrella, Hibiki. You left it behind with me." I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, and then gestured towards his hand. "And now, I'm giving it back to you, so you're welcome."

A silent stretched between us as Ryoga processed what I said. I could see he was still angry… but I couldn't feel any aggression towards me anymore.

"So what you're saying is…" He chewed his words, working his ideas. "It was because of _Ranma_ that I lost my umbrella!"

…What.

"What the- No, no, it wasn't Ranma's fault. _You_ left it behind if anything that's your—."

"Damn you, Ranma! Do you have any idea how much harder my journey was without my umbrella?!" The lost boy growled apparently to himself. A trembling fist raised close to his face as his emotions started to flare again. "It was hell, I said, absolute _hell!"_

"Oi, are you listening!? I'm trying to tell you this time it wasn't Ranma's fau—

"I'm gonna make you pay!" Ryoga angrily snapped his arms upward, screaming dramatically to the sky. "YOU HEAR ME SAOTOME RANMA, I, HIBIKI RYOGA, WILL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"I hear' ya."

It seems that during my brief altercation with Ryoga, most of Furinkan High's student population had decided to gather on the grassy slopes around the field and were watching the confrontation with avid interest. And of course, perching over the tall fence that separated the audience was none other than Saotome Ranma, fully armed with his Chinese shirt and cocky grin.

_**"Saotome Ranma!" **_Ryoga growled in a _seething_ tone. And right then and there, I gave up trying to make him see reason.

"Yo, Ryoga. You're late." Ranma commented.

"Come here and fight! You coward!"

The taunt and the use of the C-word closed Ranma's expression right away. But he relaxed when he caught my aggressive eye-roll. Seriously, Ryoga is so one-note that it reaches the point of parody.

Ranma leaped forward, gliding through the air like gravity was his submissive little bitch. He landed close to me and approached, his eyes trailing on Ryoga.

"Normally, I'd say you got this Hiro, but he did kinda, send me a challenge letter, so I gotta respect that… Even if he's late by a week." He muttered the last part, raising his hand in my direction. "Switch?"

"Yeah, fuck it. He's all yours if you wanna." I conceded with a sigh, leaving Ranma was a high-five before making my way to the audience. Frankly, fighting Ryoga is a tiring endeavor in more ways than one.

**Quest completed!**

Oh yeah, there was this thing.

**1.000 exp.**

**Your closeness with Hibiki Ryoga has decreased.**

**Bonus objective fulfilled: **_**You used logic and reason! It was super effective! Ryoga is confused!**_

**500 exp.**

**Your closeness with Hibiki Ryoga has increased.**

**Your closeness with Saotome Ranma has increased.**

Oh well, I suppose what I did could be considered a way to 'deal' with him. At least I got the sense I got rid of the grudge he had against me before it could properly settle.

Or used it to add fuel the massive one he has against Ranma. That guy's complicated.

-0-0-0-

The amount of cheers I received when I got to the audience weirded me out a little bit. I wasn't swarmed by squealing fangirls or anything like that, but a considerable number of First Years congratulated me, and/or patted me on the back, while people from other grades just looked impressed. To my amazement, I found myself recognizing most who come to talk, and I had a sudden realization of the number of acquaintances I ended up making over these last couple of days.

I mean, I was a lot more sociable now in my second life, but damn, where did all these people come from?

After snarking a bit with a much colder Nabiki— Apparently, I ruined her betting pool with an inconclusive result— I made my way to the top of the slope and the very back of the growing audience. Not the best place to see any details of the duel, but I didn't need to, I already knew who's gonna win.

And this wasn't even because of canon certainty, just looking at the two I could tell; Ranma had recently broken past level 30, but Ryoga still on level 24, the same level he was when he first showed up. Now, I am the last person who's going to preach about level gaps, but the implication was clear: only one of these warriors improved since the last time they've met.

So I just hang back, slid my hands inside my pocket, and turn to face my stalker, who has decided to approach me today for some reason.

**Himiko Kenji  
Vegan Werewolf  
Level: 11**

"Hello there, Kenji-san, nice day we're having!" I greeted him with a smile. "It's great to see you decided to actually talk to me today!"

He gave me a weird look, and I could see an elongated canine poking out from his lips. A grunt was apparently enough of a response for my greeting.

Well, he's less hostile than before, that's something at least. "So, what can I do for you today."

His expression furrowed, but it was less out of irritation and more out of effort, like he was working to form the right words… Or any words at all, really.

Isn't he a bit taller? More muscular? His hair definitively looks wilder than before, and this says a lot. Maybe its something to do about his condition… no, I _bet _it's something to do about his condition.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

"There are… bombs in the school."

"What?"

-0-0-0-

Well, this afternoon certainly took a wide ride straight to a left turn, wasn't it?

I was standing in the school's infirmary, feeling the orange light of the setting sun warming my face as I smiled at the giant-ass hole where a wall was supposed to be.

Man… someone will have to pay for this…

"In summary!" Declared class prez, no, Isayama Suzue— It feels like a disservice not using her name after I drag her in my little afternoon adventure. "You and the rest of the members of the chemistry club have purloined from the budget of the oncoming Cultural Festival to purchase materials and parts that aren't allowed by the school and use them to built these explosive devices!" She triumphantly held up one of the, now deactivated, homemade mines we'd found. "All so you could eliminate one Saotome Ranma and free the way to Tendo Akane heart!

"Scandalous!" Exclaimed Fujimori Yuka with a delicate hand over her mouth, she's the other girl that ended up being dragged into this silliness. Fujimori-san was the only girl in my class that matched Akane in term of looks— And actually surpasses her in terms of bust, being close to the size of Ranma's girl form— the only reason she wasn't pursued just as much as the Tendo girl is because her admirers tend to mysteriously disappear rather than stick around to bother her. I think her title of 'Yakuza Princess' has something to do with this.

"Frankly, I'm just glad this is all over." Kuroba Daisuke commented from the corner where he had dropped on his ass. Kuroba-san wasn't exactly dragged along into this, as he was already involved, being the only student who discovered the chemistry club's plan and tried to stop it. I found him tied up in a chair in an empty classroom, and was surprised that he's still wanted to keep going. I guess his title of 'Aspiring Superhero' wasn't just for show. "But I'm glad I was able to help." He finished with a broad smile.

Honestly, I think they are enjoying this a bit too much.

'This' being rubbing the failure of his plans in the face of one Koba Satoru, the chemistry club's president who now lies on the infirmary bed recuperating from his baseball bat beat down of justice.

His purple, swollen face twisted into a snarl. "And I would have succeeded too if it wasn't for your meddling punks!"

The rest of the chemistry club groaned apologetically from their own infirmary beds. Most looked genuinely remorseful after I painstakingly put their little plan into perspective, and laid out all the things that could have happened and the real consequences they would be facing if they did, all excerpt a ratty guy named Sato Igoru, which had the title of 'High Minion' and seems to look up to Koba Satoru for guidance for every little thing.

Isayama-taichou flicked her glasses; it flashed with a bright light of pure malice. "So, you plead guilty, kukukuku."

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go now." On the corner of my eyes, I saw that Kenji had the same idea but didn't bother voicing it. The werewolf was already at the door.

"Indeed. Ōe-san, your services were invaluable today, but they aren't necessary anymore. I'll take it from here." Isayama-taichou nodded at me and immediately went back to threatening the wounded nerds with her flashing glasses of menace.

With some last goodbyes from the rest of the improvised party, I made my way into the corridors, walking fast to catch up with the retreating werewolf.

Turn out he was faster than I'd imagined, it wasn't even a few steps before I saw his form through the window, exiting the building.

No biggy, it's only two floors down.

"Hello, Kenji-san," I said as I landed into a crouch beside him. My sudden appearance made him tense, and for a moment, my instincts screamed for me not to approach. "A moment of your time, please." I continued, ignoring the spike of aggression.

"Do not _do_ that!" He growled, taking a few breaths to regain his composure. "I got nothing to say to you."

An underline growl made him stumble in his delivery, but it was still mostly understandable.

"Why did you call me for this? I glad that you did, don't get me wrong, but I know you could have dealt with this on your own."

His teeth clicked together. They were definitely more pointy and elongated than they were when we first met. He shifted his weight from side to side as he once again worked on his sentences.

"I couldn't… If it was just me… I'd have killed them." He rasped out.

"The chemistry club?"

He grunted another response and started walking out. I followed.

"You don't have to keep watching me from the corners, you know, that's kinda creepy. If you just walk up to me and Ranma we'll let you hang."

He gave me another one of his grunts; this one sounded more like a groan and a growl mixed together in a bowl of irritation.

"Why the hell are you so insistent in following me anyway?"

"Grrn… Aneue told me… to keep an eye on you." He made a grunting confession.

Aneue? Another piece of information related to the stalker werewolf. That and the fact I've gathered the interest of another possible werewolf, one of higher ranking given how Kenji refers to her.

"Really now. You know, I wouldn't mind meeting this—"

"Too many…_ words." _This last growl scraped the limit of what is possible for a human throat. He craned his neck to the east, seemly snarling at a particular part of the orange sky. "Shut up. Stop following me."

I took a moment to decide and stopped in my tracks, watching him disappear inside the growing shadows between the trees of the patch of vegetation behind the school. It wasn't a forest proper, so I have no doubt he will jump over the wall on the other side and get lost in the spiderweb of low alleyway formed by Nerima's buildings.

Himiko Kenji, the vegan werewolf, I admit he fascinates me a little bit, not because of who he is, but because of what he is; he is the first friendly supernatural creature that I've met, one that is almost certainly involved with some kind of non-human, supernatural side of the world. I'm hoping to use Kenji to peek into this world by my own terms before someone inevitably drags me into it. Also, I'm very curious about the werewolves as a race; they were always my favorite of the famous monsters after all.

But alas, he will have to wait; there are other matters I will have to look into tonight.

I made my way over to the front of the school, dodging the damage caused by Ranma and Ryoga's duel and the literal minefield that was prepared against them. I wonder how exactly that duel ended up; I know that Ranma won, but they took the fight somewhere away from the school while I was running around keeping any bystanders from stepping on explosives, so I don't know how it went.

… I feel like I'm forgetting something about this particular duel, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember what.

"Hey, master!" Minon was leaning against a tree, her leg having just regenerated enough to let her stand. Luckily, there weren't any students around to question the presence of an injured Minotaur in skimpy bikini armor. "Did you see how _wild_ I was back there!? I was like, 'Take that!' Pow, Pow, Punch!" She punctuated her enthusiasm by punching the air with her bulky gauntlets. "Totally showed that explosion who was the boss, minon!"

"Only you could be so happy after being blow up." I shook my head with a smile. "Anyway, Minon, I need you to stand guard for the Rhythmic Gymnastics club tonight, and accompany them home after they finish training."

"Ah man, guard duty." She grumbled dejectedly.

"I remind you that the girls train in very tight leotards."

"Ah man, guard duty!" She threw her arms up in glee.

Minon's protection was a 'just-in-case' kinda deal, as I don't think anything will actively threaten them anymore. Plus, having them protected frees me to address the chip on my shoulder I've been feeling since this morning.

Alright then, let's see what's going on with Kodachi and her team.

-0-0-0-

Rain fell like a translucent screen over Nerima's night, droplets like pebbles hitting the ground with loud, distinctive splashes. It was a heavy, dark rain, but even then, the clouds weren't able to entirely hide the luminescence of the unusually bright full moon.

The tallish young man circled the street with patient steps, uncaring to how the water darkened the bottom of his kendogi. A traditional umbrella spun softly on his palm as he took a deep, closed-eyed breath and opened a small yet noble smile

"So, it has come to this. I should have expected."

The young man chuckled, the levity of his tone contrasting with the rightful tension growing across his form.

His eyes snapped open, his glare piercing like a soldier's spear on a fierce battlefield bathed by moonlight.

"You have finally shown your true colors, eh? Attacking me at my own home!" He threw the umbrella to the side, letting the rain fall over his warrior form while he theatrically draws his bokken. "Saotome's dark wizard! Prepare to die!"

In retrospect, this might not have been the best idea.

"Ok, Kuno-senpai, first; I didn't come here to attack you, nor have I, technically, come to your house; we're still by the front door. Second, you're the one who attacked me first, remember? Without warning or provocation, might I add… And from the rooftop too…"

"Silence, scum! Why else would you come if not to perpetuate your master's dark designs! I, Kuno Tatewaki, Furikan's Indigo Falcon, will put a stop to that! En guard!"

My logic was sound. I swear it was. It was pretty late when I left Furikan to check on Kodachi, so I thought there was a possibility that she'd already gone back home, and with her home being closer than her school, I decided to go there first. Plus, I only wanted to see if she was all right and not planning something silly; if she was there, then I could just finish up for the night and go home myself.

Kuno continued to attack, each of his swings cutting the air with violent sounds, leaving deadly trails of air behind, I continued to dance and wave between his attacks. Ranma had commented something about Kuno being the most dangerous when he tries for ambushes or uses unconventional moves born from his rage, but being no problem to deal with in a straight fight. According to him, when Kuno is fighting directly, he tends to fall back to the principles of kendo and _nothing but_ _that; _anybody who was familiar with the basics of the style and could match him physically would be able to see his every move.

This was not the first time I fought Kuno, but this was the first time I fought him directly and alone, and… I could see where Ranma's coming from. After a week of unconventional Anything Goes training, and an even longer period of time fighting multiple yokai with their own set of strange movements, Kuno felt… almost robotic in his execution.

"Kuno-senpai, can you please stop?" I said to him while I dodged. "I'm not here to fight. I just came to see how Kodachi's doing."

"NANI!"

He cuts the rain in a horizontal slash that carried so much strength the aftershock was almost physical. I leaped over the attack and flipped as I passed over his head, landing behind him in basically the same position that I was when I jumped, only facing the opposite direction.

A bokken was pointed at my face within moments.

"So your aim is my own sister, and to refer to her with such familiarity!" Kuno was trembling in anger. Crap, I was thinking about her as her anime character, so I slipped. "You cretin!"

"Hold on— Hold on, damn it!" I leaped back from his crazy swings. "I just wanna know if she's alright! Her whole team is in the hospital, aren't they!?"

"Silence, demon! You'll regret the day you provoked the wrath of Furikan's Indigo Falcon! Kuno style, Eighth forbidden Technique: _HEAVENLY RETRIBUTION!"_

Kuno's special technique… was just another of his normal swings; he just added a useless flare to it.

What a waste of time.

Rather than dodging, I stepped into his reach, my hand trailing with an aquamarine smoke of condensed mana as I strike my open palm against his oncoming swing. At the exact moment of impact, I released the Mana Bolt carrying a load of concussive force.

To Kuno's credit, he didn't let go of his bokken, but because of that, both his arms were violently blown upwards, and his whole body almost left the ground, leaving the entire front of his torso open and unprotected. Capitalizing on that, I twisted on my heels, quickly raising a curled leg before unleashing a brutal kick directly at his solar plexus.

Kuno flew backward, his body already practically airborne before I even applied the impact, his flailing foot brushed against the ground, tipping his trajectory and making him crash land on the wet pavement, where he rolled to a stop.

I opened my hand to catch his falling bokken before making my way to the fallen, now coughing boy.

"I win," I said out loud to make things clear; I've noticed that martial artists tend to listen to you more after defeating them. According to Ranma, this is actually a thing; something about some pre-school logic about doing what the winner says. "Now tell me where Kodachi is."

Kuno let out some wheezing sounds, gasping for air as he recovered from the impact. His body turned to the side in a subconscious attempt to get out of direct rain. I kept his own bokken trailed over him the entire time.

"You… Foul…Ku…kuku…" He finally breathed out, curling over in pain as he tried to laugh. "Your plans for Kodachi has been foiled… My twisted sister is still in practice at her school."

"Practicing? At night!? With her whole team in the hospital?" I asked incredulously. Sure, there was a tournament coming, but would she even be able to participate missing her whole team.

"Kukuku, you underestimate… A Kuno's tenacity!"

He timed his triumphant declaration to what would have been his table-turner, that said, I could see it coming a mile away, having used the same tactic against Ranma in more than a few occasions. It was easy to sidestep is rising lunge just as it was easy to dodge the following combo of punches and kicks he used in the attempt to get his weapon back.

"Didn't know you could fight unarmed," I commented, stepping back while keeping the bokken on my shoulder and away from his reach. "You really should stop now."

"Fool! I will not rest until you receive your due punishment! Now die!"

Ah man, I don't want to fight Kuno anymore. It feels like bullying at this point.

With a sigh, I took the bokken and held it as if it was my baseball bat. I'm just gonna knock Kuno's lights out and end this.

"Tatewaki-sama!" A voice interjected before I could advance.

A bit to the side of where Kuno and I were facing each other, a small, crouching figure wearing a dark outfit that made him blend to the darkness surprisingly well, appeared out of nowhere. I couldn't help it but blink when I saw his face; wide, expressive eyes, very bushy eyebrows, a pair of naruto-like whiskers in each cheek… Frankly, it was the goofiest face I ever saw.

It took me a second to recognize him as Kuno's little ninja from the show, Sasuke or something. I remember Rin commenting about his presence when she was dealing with the traps Kodachi left for the Furikan's Rhythmic Gymnastics team. She'd described him as 'remarkably slippery'.

"Sasuke! How dare you interrupt my duel!" Kuno shouts him down immediately.

It was then I realized how agitated the little guy looked; twitching impatiently, ragged breathing, eyes wide and alarmed.

"A thousand pardons Tatewaki-sama! But I bring grave new and—"

"Where is Kodachi?" I asked suddenly, giving voice to the bad feeling growing inside my chest.

"Gah! Who are you!?" The ninja gasped as if noticing me for the first time.

"Bastard! How dare you address my retainer!"

"Never mind that!" Snapped Sasuke, "Tatewaki-sama, please listen! I…I was feeling unease with how long Kodachi-sama was taking in her practice, so I decided to check and—Oh Tatewaki-sama, Kodachi-sama is… Kodachi-sama is…"

"What is it, Sasuke?" Kuno leaned in.

"Kodachi-sama is—"

"Oh, quit the dramatic anime pause and just tell us already!" This time I was the one who snapped.

-0-0-0-

Nerima blurred around me as I rushed forwards with all my speed, my steps splashing over the deep puddles created by the now fading rain.

I frowned at the next intersection, which would force me out of the direct route until the next turn unless I started breaking my way through buildings like Hibiki Ryoga would do. Taking a split-second decision, I accelerated instead, leaping over the wall when I was just about to crash on it, and landing on the rooftop of the following house.

Rooftop travel is something I'm still struggling to master. Well, the martial artist version of it anyway. I _can_ do it, and it was just as exhilarating as I'd imagined it being the first few times, but I can't figure out the little nuances that allow for fluid movements and no collateral damage. If I limited myself to a civilian level, I could do it without a problem, aided by no small amount by my Parkour skill, but when I try to roof hop like a martial artist would, that is: with way longer jumps, practically bouncing where they land to the point of spending only one step per roof, all I leave behind are wanton destruction.

Case in point, everywhere I landed, cracks appeared and tiles exploded. I honestly feel for the people living there, but this is an emergency.

_'Ranma'_, I considered for a moment, but quickly discarded the thought. Tendo's household was way out of the way, and by what Sasuke had described, every second counts.

Another passing thought questioned why I was going all this length for Kodachi of all people and without a quest reward to back me up too. I easily crush that thought because it was very silly.

Anyone visiting Nerima would easily see this was a city of low buildings. The best we have are some governmental offices with six to seven floors and the city hall, which has around eight; the rest rarely went beyond two or three. This meant that, on the rooftops, the vista stretches practically unobstructed for a far distance, and it also meant that any buildings with four or more floors seemed like towering landmarks.

St. Hebereke's School for Girls quickly entered my vision… And I had to pause in my steps to gasp my shock.

Part of the building shone against the dark of the night.

Sasuke landed beside me, huffing and puffing by the effort of matching my pace. He'd done a better job than Kuno, who, giving the distant cries of outrage, was ground-bound.

"Ahh! I-It's on fire!" He cried in distress.

I took a moment to consider the situation; the school wasn't entirely on fire, just some parts on the back and side, but the flames were clear to see even at a distance. The lights and sounds of a fire truck were quickly approaching from a street in the back. They would be there within moments.  
My first instinct was to _hurry the fuck up_. Fire, people might be in danger, sounded simple, right?

… It would be if it weren't for the familiar, blaring feeling twitching over my shoulders and back of my head, a chill so unnaturally precise I could even see the direction of the cause.

And it was creeping _away_ from the building.

"N-No good! We have to— Ōe-sama? Ōe-samaaa!?"

I wasted no time adjusting my direction. I wanted to have a look on whoever or whatever was triggering my supernatural senses; this feeling reminds me too much of the one I felt back at Shiori's temple.

The change in direction did not take me completely away from the burning school, as whatever was causing it still fairly close. Just a few more leaps and turns and the urban cover gave away to a roaring flash of bright pink and white.

I saw red.

"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?"

I fell over the thing leg first in a meteoric dynamic entry that would've made me worthy of a green spandex if this were a hidden village. I felt a crack beneath my feet before it was blown away in an animalistic cry of pain.

Pain flared in my leg from the backlash of the maneuver, but I easily ignored that, focusing instead on the thing standing up from the rubble of a half-collapsed wall.

A mostly humanoid body covered with toned muscles and pink fur, a pair of digitigrade legs ending in large animal paws, an enormous mane of alabaster white that puffed around its head and shoulders, a beastly face with just enough humanity in it to look uncanny. It was a cross between a woman and a large feline, clearly tending to a more bestial side.

Slitted green eyes regarded me with pure hatred before it _roared_ a challenge.

**Falion  
Cardian of The Chariot.  
Level 29.**

_"FALION!" _

"Yeah, yeah, I know that, you pokemon-sounding motherfucker." I muttered under my breath.

A Cardian, the same creature as Minon— no, the same creature as that monstrous version that Minon used to be.

Another monster of the same type, a pattern…

It doesn't matter.

"I have your name and face now, bitch." I stated while the growling thing sized me up. I could see the wound I left on her left shoulder and the difficulties she's having moving her arm. Ideally, I would press on this advantage.

But Kodachi's life was more important, _the burning building_ is more important.

"I'll fucking come for you," I promised, preparing to leave and continue my way to the school.

A small voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Ah… Ah… Senpai?... You certainly… You certainly know how to make an entrance."

… Turning away from an enemy is always a bad idea, especially one so bestial-looking as this creature. Even so, after hearing _this _voice, I could _not _ignore it, so I look back for the briefest of seconds.

Haruka looked back from where she was standing in the middle of the street. Her whole body shaking as she loudly pulled gasping breaths, her middle school uniform clung so tightly to her sweaty form that it was almost a second skin, the nearly see-through parts contrasting heavily with the blood red from the torn gashes in the shape of claw marks. Her legs trembled under her, both for exhaustion and from the strain of the weight she was carrying.

And that weight was none other than Kuno Kodachi, who was slumped over Haruka's body piggyback style. The gymnastics champion blinked dumbly at my direction with a heavily clouded stare.

… I see… —I get the picture now: they were attacked, they ran, and the thing chased.

"Did that little guy find you?" Haruka wheezed out the question.

"Something like that." I _looked back_ to the pink furry monster and watched as she suddenly froze on her imminent lunge. "Nice work, Haruka. I'll take it from here."

_"Falion!" _The monster roared as she overcame her trepidations and leaped forwards in a direct attack.

**New quest— **

I snapped the accept button with one hand while pulling my baseball bat out of the inventory with the other. I can imagine what the thing was expecting when she threw all her musclebound form full of claws and fangs at me, and I'm proud to say that I promptly dashed those expectations by bashing her out of the sky with a brutal hit right on her injured side.

She bounced meaty against the pavement, letting out a pained yowl. I was immediately onto her.

I'm _really_ glad for all those days I spent fighting Yokai, because let me tell you, a supernatural creature, especially one that is less humanoid than most, does not move as a martial artist does. This might sound obvious, but Ranma had talked my ears off with tales of talented martial artists who lost their lives fighting a bear, or a platypus. Apparently, they are the equivalent of cautionary tales to the community. Point is; feral creatures move differently, and you have to keep that in mind when fighting an animal.

This principle also works when fighting Yokai as not all of them know martial arts. This monster in particular was like a mix between a humanoid Yokai and a tiger, nothing I haven't seen before.

"FAGHHH!" She screamed as I managed to dodge all her attacks and lay a hit on her injury. There was a loud crunch in the area and her left arm when limp.

Her next move was to try to leap back, to which I responded by catching her tail and pulling her back, my bat raising and descending in three vicious strikes across her back, each driving her to the ground and producing pained gasps.

She rolled to her back, entering a belly-showing stance of feline aggression, but before she could use all her four sets of claws I kicked her entire body out the ground and struck her back down with my bat. She gurgled her catchword and tried to run again, but I stomped over her kneecap and kicked her face to disorient her. All throughout this process, my bat flew up and down as I single-handily broke her bones and crushed her body with an almost mechanical efficiency.

I was so focused on hurting her; on making her pay for every injury she left on Haruka… That I almost didn't hear the loud 'ping' echoing above me. I definitely heard Haruka, though.

"WATCH OUT!"

Her shout made me freeze for a moment, just enough for the Cardian to twist her bloody muzzle and open her maw unnaturally wide.

_**"FALION!" **_

_This_ roar was accompanied by a jet stream of a purple, almost ghostly energy. I had just enough time to shield my face before I was hit in the front and pushed back by its sheer intensity.

_Agony _flared across my arm and whatever part of my body it touched. My Jacket and shirt started to burn away, my exposed skin began to blister. I ground my teeth together and push the pain to the back of my mind, frantically trying to work out a solution from this predicament that didn't involve rolling out of the way and letting the attack wash over to the girls behind my back.

Following my instincts, I immediately emitted a large quantity of Mana from my torso; trying to give it shape and intention at the same time like I did the first time I used it, this time to create a shield rather than an exploding sphere. Within moments it became clear that the pain of being slowly burned alive was making it hard to concentrate, so I discarded the plan for another, cruder but more immediate solution.

**New Skill Created: Elemental Resistance: Fire lvl 01.  
**_**Increases your natural resistance against fire, decrease the harmful effects of fire and heat, take less damage from fire attacks. **_

And once again, the beautiful, beautiful Gamer system made my life infinitely easier. I smiled as the decrease in pain and damage let me concentrate my mana more easily, making it rise through my defending arm until it focused in my hand, then I quickly pointed it to the heart of the fiery beam releasing my own stream of concentrated mana to counteract the Cardian's.

What followed was one minute of a locked energy beam battle that you would see in Dragon Ball or Harry Potter. It wasn't really as fun being a participant of it as it was to witness from the side, it was mostly just keeping your arm raised, keeping the energy going, and trying to hold back the pressure from the opposing power. At least I wasn't on fire anymore.

I felt the pressure of the enemy's beam lessen as her energy started to run out, so I raised my other hand and formed a fully shaped Mana bolt in my palm, all while making a show of also losing steam. When both beams run out and all that was left was the bright, residual energy over the street, I responded to the Cardian's death glare with a Mana bolt to the face.

"FGAH!" The thing cried out. I doubt she was expecting me to use magic right after I finished counteracting her beam. Well, tough shit, there is more where that comes from.

So I picked up my bat and restarted the brutalization of the Cardian, this time magically and from a distance, just to show I fucking could.

The things cried and moaned in agony as explosions wrecked her body and the area surrounding her. Booms echoed, pavement cracked, blood poured, all that good shit.

By the end, I paused, letting the dust settle to show the broken, burned form of the now unmoving Cardian. I placed my bat over my shoulders and walked over to bash its head open just to make sure it was really dead because I sure as hell wasn't about to assume and turn my back to it.

It was only then that I noticed the creaking sound.

A couple of meters above where the battle took place, there was a… ghostly wheel thingy? It was hovering in place, slowly spinning. It reminded me a lot of a piece of a ghostly pirate ship I'd seen in every cartoon show.

The thing was so out of the left field that I had to stop and assault it with an incredulous look— What the fuck?

"Senpai! That thing's—" I heard Haruka cry out before the wheel snapped into place with a loud 'ping'. My eyes widened when I recognized the sound.

"FALION!" The broken monster surged to her feet, golden energy flaming over her form, seemly reinvigorating her. She moved with a speed she wasn't displayed before and tacked me to the ground. Her claws digging deep into my biceps as she pinned me in place.

I watched as the wounds on her snarling face knit themselves close, and the growing swelling noticeably diminished.

Self-healing, Fuck!

She lunged for my neck, and I threw my head to the side to let her plant her face in the ground. Using my strength, I surged upwards and drew her into a grappling match. At this distance, there was no way to prevent her claws from gashing my skin a few times, but despite the pain, I quickly managed to lock the inexperienced monster into a submission hold, my superior strength more than enough to hold her down while she thrashed like an animal.

Two instances of fucking up my imminent victory had me playing attention on the hovering wheel, which had begun spinning again. This time I nearly cursed when I heard the next ping.

Fuck. No.

I threw my body to the side, putting my back to the ground and dragging the snarling monster with me. With a direct view of the wheel above, I triggered the skill I'd gotten from the Slime Queen's loot. In the same instant, my Mana surged up, following the Gamer System's automatic control, and twisted inside itself in a way I couldn't even begin to describe to shape a particular effect/element.

**Acid Spit lvl 03  
**_**One of nineteen steps needed to become a Space Marine.**_

It was one of those skills that sounded lame and simple until you took a moment to think of all the way how it could be useful in real life, plus it came with a bonus of enhancing my spit distance.

The effects of the wheel were just starting to activate when the acid hit it. To my surprise, it broke apart by the impact alone, the corrosive effect not needed.

The Cardian screamed in my hold, her body arching and coiling like it was struck by lightning or was suffering the effect of an extremely high voltage, I could feel her strength practically disappearing as mine revitalized. Almost without thinking, I took advantage of that to get a better hold, ready for her to—

"C-Cleansing!" She suddenly gurgled out from my sleeper hold. It was surprising to hear her talking after all those animal noises, that and the fact I was putting a hell of a lot of pressure on her throat.

Her body bust out in black flames, and I flinched, throwing her remains to the side and getting to my feet in one smooth movement, but I couldn't feel any heat from this particular fire.

Oh right, when I killed Minon's previous incarnation, what was her name again? She also burned away in black fire; maybe it's a common trait among Cardians.

**Quest completed.**

**2000 exp**

**Your relationship with Tenou Haruka has increased.**

**Your relationship with Kuno Kodachi has vastly increased.**

Closing the quest screen, I retrieved my bat and finally turned to address the audience.

Haruka had placed a still unresponsive Kodachi on the sidewalk, leaning against one of the walls of one of the residential buildings. And Haruka herself was standing close, her… wide eyes looking over my form.

"Ah." I breathed out, suddenly embarrassed as I remember my own lingering injuries. I had become surprisingly good at blocking off pain to the point I almost didn't notice after a while, something about the certainty that I'd be fine no matter what if I was alive by the end helped with that fact.

To be fair, it wasn't _that _bad, just ruined clothes, some burns, and a few claw marks here and here. Haruka's own claw marks looked much deeper.

"This is nothi—"

_"Don't…_ say that." Haruka's voice hiccupped before her tone lowered almost to a whisper. She was avoiding my gaze. "… It's not nothing."

I…

Ah…

The distant sounds of the fire-trunks' sirens reminded me of the burning school. I cast a brief look at that direction to see red light beaming over the buildings, but no signs of the brightness of the fire. I turned back to the girls; Kodachi was looking fixedly at us, Haruka looked about to collapse.

… The professionals can deal with the fire.

-0-0-0-

**You have found a special magitech artifact of Alien Origin.  
Do you wish to assimilate it into the gamer system?  
Yes/No **

I let the Card lazily drift between finger to finger as I sat there in a clean corner of Doc Tofu's clinic.

Another monster that could only say its name and leaves a card that my game system identifies as 'Alien Origin' when killed. It was the exact same situation as Minon's.

But what does this mean? My game calls them Alien, or at least, say they are of Alien origin. Frankly after all I've seen Aliens aren't much of a stretch, but regardless of their origins I can't see the reason to why attack people like that, I mean, first they attack in a highly defensive temple and no doubt produced the ire and attention of the local supernatural community, and next they attack a school!? Do they _want_ attention? Maybe make a statement?

Both attacks were targeting someone; at the temple it was Ena, and now… considering that it attacked the school at night and that it chased them afterward…

I look up to the bed were Kodachi was lying; she fell fully unconscious on our way here, forcing me to carry her the rest of the way, now she wasn't waking up, but Doc said there wasn't anything physically wrong with her, just exhaustion.

Was Kodachi the target this time? Or…

I let out a sigh and looked over to where Doc was treating Haruka's injuries.

There are still too many pieces missing on this puzzle.

"There, Tenou-san." The Doc spoke, finishing tying the bandages around her arm. "They aren't as bad as they seem, but I'm still surprised you'd get attacked by a tiger of all things!"

I couldn't help but cringe a little at the excuse we came up with, I was hoping the nature of the injuries would give some credit to it… and that Doc wouldn't notice the difference. But apparently, something happened to the zoo today and some animals escaped, so 'being attacked by a tiger' is a lot more believable tonight then it would have been at any other time.

I wonder if Ranma had anything to do with it.

"Yes, Ono-sensei," Haruka replied, testing her hand's grip to see how the bandages flexed on her arm. "Thank you for your treatment."

"It will be enough for the wounds." Doc nodded. "But you still have to go to a hospital to get proper treatment. I'll call your parent and get you trans—"

"Eh!" She cried out, and I also looked up from my weird magical card. "Hum, can't I just go home?"

Doc Tofu frowned the frown of a responsible adult who's trying to be reasonable. I hated when the genuinely good people did that; they give it a validity like you wouldn't believe.

"Tenou-san, you've been attacked by a wild animal. It'd be irresponsible of me to let you walk away after a few patches."

"I'm fine, really. Look!" She pulled herself off her bed, wincing slightly but noticeably as the full weight of her wounds made themseves know without adrenaline to bear the brunt. "I'm fine." She argued again.

Doc Tofu's righteous frown was now accompanied by a sad look that said he could see through all her lies and just want to help, now stop being a stubborn young lady you must receive all the care in the— God_damn_ he's good.

"Ono-sensei, if I may." I stood from where I sat. "Haruka had a stressful night. She just wants to get to her home and rest for a bit. I'll escort her there and make sure she gets to a hospital tomorrow, I promise. Just please, let her leave."

"Please," Haruka added.

That argument did not persuade him; I knew that I could_ see _that. But he must have realized that there was more to it than we were saying. In the end, his shoulders dropped in acceptance.

"Alright, just this time. I'll leave her to you Ōe-san." I could feel the trust he placed on me for that, I appreciate it.

As we were leaving, I stopped by Kuno Tatewaki's prone form at the clinic's front entrance. He, of course, stirred at my presence and used his bokken to try to rise to his feet.

"Damn you, wizard! I will make you pay for what you did to—"

"I did nothing to Kodachi," I said for the hundredth time and knew he wasn't going to listen. "Anyway, I'll be going now, but I'm going to be really pissed if you try to start shit in Ono-sensei's place in my absence, so you better make like Sasuke and behave yourself, understand?"

"The great eagle of Furikan always flies high, and it always strikes down his foes! En guard, monster!" Without listening, he got to his feet and tried to fight like he's been doing for the past hour or so.

At this point, I'm just trying to trash him while being mindful of the noise to not bother the neighbors. This time was no different. I hope that with me gone he would actually visit his recuperating sister rather than, in his words, 'Getting rightful revenge!'

The nights in Nerima are far from being dark; the lack of intense urban centers and the people's tendency to go to bed early kept light pollution to a minimum, so, if not covered by clouds, the nights here are usually bright and full of stars, tonight this was particularly true with the towering brightness of the full-moon adding to the vision.

Haruka and I made our way through the street slowly and quietly. I'd offered the girl my shoulder to lean on, and even carry her, but she just waved it off and continued fighting through the pain.

The long stretches of silence were… uncomfortable, and the worst thing was this wasn't even solely the result of tonight.

All throughout this week the girl's been distancing herself from me. Before, I frequently met her during my morning jogs, and we could easily talk and joke all the way to her school, but then our conversations started to lose steam, silence became more frequent, and I sometimes caught these_looks_ from her… yesterday was the first time she didn't show up since I've met her.

What happened at the illusion barrier shook her more than I'd initially thought, and I don't blame her; even if she didn't get hurt, getting introduced to the supernatural that way would have shaken anybody, and to discover right after that the friends she's been making were deeply involved in it mustn't have helped.

Now there was this thing with the Cardian.

"So, hum, what... How did you end up in that situation?" I asked hesitantly, trying to break the silence. I don't know if it was the right thing to ask, and it probably wasn't, but I _had_ to say something.

The girl didn't answer at first, just kept looking ahead. I was about to beat myself by the choice of subject when she spoke.

"I was keeping an eye on Kodachi; I told you I would. She's just as unhinged as the rumors said, but then her team started to disappear…" She trails off.

… I don't know what it was worse, the fact she spoke so mechanically, or the fact she got involved in all of that because of _me._

A pathetical, "Oh." Was all I managed to say when I wanted to hit myself. Fuck, this was a girl trying to come to terms that demons and monsters and magical gender flipping martial artists existed, and I threw her right at the jaws of a lion-woman-monster thing. If only I wasn't so insistent on this Kodachi business.

I shifted uncomfortably. She was already distancing herself by the mere existence of these things, and now she's been hurt and terrorized by one, I can already see her reaction.

So deep I was in my musings that I didn't notice that Haruka suddenly wasn't beside me anymore. A surge of panic burst inside my chest, but a quick look around showed me that she'd just stopped in her tracks and I kept walking like an idiot.

"… Senpai is amazing."

H-Hm? She was almost whispering, so it took a second for me to process the words. I open my mouth to respond but she continued.

"That… thing…. It was so… Terrifying, strong, Kuno Kodachi fought against it, but she couldn't even… I didn't know what to do, so I just grabbed her and… ran."

She choked, and I felt my chest tightening at the highs her voice was getting; it was not easy seeing Haruka, seeing anymore like this. Before I could swallow the lump on my throat, she pressed on.

"But then you." She finally looked at me, eyes glistening. "You just… dealt with it, you stood against it and refused to budge and was so damn brave and heroic, and so like you that I…" A rueful smile opens on her face, and she shook her head. "I just ran, like I always, _always _do, running away from everything, even before tonight I was… Compared to you _I_…" She hiccupped wetly at the last word.

I had enough.

"Shut up," I said firmly, she flinched at the word and tone, but I press on.

"Look at me, Haruka." She didn't react. _"Look at me."_ I insisted.

She did, moist blue eyes with complicated emotions rose from the shadows of her bangs to look at me.

"Do you see any injury, any sign of that fight at all?" I pointed at my shoulder where there should have been a second-degree burn, but instead, there was perfectly immaculate skin under my new shirt. "I am a freak, Haruka. I can punch through concrete, I can run faster than a car, I can heal from just about any injury with a short rest. But, you… you are nothing like me. You're just a normal girl."

She smiled that self-deprecating smile again; more tears gathered in her eyes.

I step in, enough to be inappropriate for a Japanese person, but I didn't give a damn.

"You have nothing I have. And _yet_ you still faced that monster, you still got in, got Kodachi, and freaking _carried _her city blocks away from the school all while a monster chased you. How the hell do you think anybody else would have acted in this situation, how the hell do you think _I _would if I didn't have what I have. They would run, Haruka. They would run immediately and just forget about anymore else in favor of saving their skin. I would run."

She shook her head sharply, "You wouldn't run."

_"I would!"_ It's true. If I didn't have the gamer, if I didn't have concrete proof that I would get stronger, or that I wouldn't get permanent injuries… I would act much differently than I do now. But her… "But you, you just… risked your life to save someone, someone you didn't know, didn't even like for goodness sake. You faced down a _genuine monster_ that could have killed you just to get someone to safety. You call _me_ brave and heroic? Then how the hell can we even begin to describe _you_?"

And I mean it too, I was surprised how much I mean it. There is no way to understate what Haruka did tonight; she found herself in an actual horror movie situation, and instead of saving herself like the average person, she risked it all for Kodachi. This is just…

"Extraordinary. You're just extraordinary." I decided and said it to her face.

Then I realize I _literally_ said to her face, seeing as I was close enough to do so, and had my hands on her shoulders.

"Hum." To my credit I didn't sputter dumbly like an anime protagonist with a pretty girl would, I just straightened my back and released my grip on her shoulders. "Sorry about… that." I trailed off.

Haruka was meeting my eyes for the first time in a while, and I was struck speechless by the weight her teary gaze held. Shock, doubt, happiness, hope, all mixed into a confused bundle. They glistened in the night's light before disappearing as she bumped her forehead on my chest, hands clinging to my shirt.

I said nothing as the quiet sobs started, just brought my arms around her, and tried to hold her in a manner that wouldn't let my awkwardness show. I was not prepared to be consoling a crying girl tonight, much less Haruka, but I would do the best I could.

We stood there in that deserted street for a while. I said nothing, just kept rubbing my hands on her back and let her let all she was holding. She occasionally mumbled something against my shirt, but it was too muffled for me to make sense, and she went back to sobbing soon after.

Eventually, we separated.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just…" Haruka spoke, rubbing her sleeves to her face to clear her remaining tears. "Nobody ever said something like that to me."

It was hard to keep the surprise from showing on my face. Sure, what I called her, and the way I did it was a bit chuuni— scratch that, it was a lot chuuni — so I can see how she can say that, but something about the way she said it… I knew, I just _knew_ there was a lot more meaning than it first seemed.

I looked at Tenou Haruka again, taking her in like it was the first time: tall for a girl of her age, long-limbed, shoulders tending towards the broad side, dirty blonde hair that was more curled than straight, feature that while certainly attractive were longer and sharper than the average girl…

"Well… That sounds like it's entirely their fault." I decided with a nod; it was a very easy decision.

She rasped out a tiny laught despite herself. Then, out of nowhere, she gave me a deep bow.

"I'm sorry!" She declared before I could say anything. "Senpai, I treated you terribly this week, I'm so, so sorry about that."

"Ah." Jesus, if acting a bit distant is being treated terribly to Haruka, then she definitely can't go to the west; she's just too nice for those barbarians. "I figured you just needed some time."

She shook her head… while still bowing, so it was a bit weird. "No, I was… I was trying to run away again. I apologize for that!"

"It's—" It's ok; I almost said it, but gestures mean different things for different people, so while I might not have been to bothered about it, I could see now that it weighted on Haruka. So I change to a formal but sincere. "I accept your apology, please stand."

She did, passing her sleeve over her eyes one last time to get the last tears.

"Hiroshi-senpai… I'm not what you describe." I frowned, but then she _looked _at me with a _**—Radiant, joyful smile, bloody yet victorious, short blonde hair blowing in fury of the cosmic storm, dark blue eyes like continental colossus cresting over a bed of starlight, holding within undying, never-ending—**_ determination I've never seen on her before.

Hum!?

What the hell?

D-Did her title and level just _glitch?_

"But I want to be like that! I want to be someone I can be proud of. So." I blinked at her as she bowed again, a formal bow rather than the one for a humbling apology from before. "Please, Hiroshi-senpai, I humbly request your guidance."

Her question helped center my thought. I blinked down to her and realized what she asked. "Sure, I'm wasn't planning to leave you hanging when it was me that dragged you into this mess, but, hum, guidance is a bit much."

Haruka smiled; it was one of her usual ones this time, the ones that make her look damn cool. "Not at all, I had a distinct feeling that it would come to that on the first time we met, it's a bit weird to be honest, but…" She shrugged. "I guess you come with the weird."

…There is a lot to unpack there; in fact, her statement had my common sense tingling like a motherfucker, so I don't want to just dismiss that, even when I hoped that it's just an in of the moment thing.

Still, Haruka was back, and things didn't feel awkward between us anymore, process!

"I probably have to get stronger, though." She commented as she walked past me in an unspoken prompt.

"Definitely, sorry about that, but hanging out with me and Ranma makes that necessary." It was easy to fall into step beside her. My eyes widened when an interesting idea surfaced. "In fact, I think I have a good dojo to recommend."

We talked the entire way back to her house, the heavy silence of our last few conversations all but a memory.

I couldn't believe how glad I was for that.

-0-0-0-

Yesterday was a good day overall.

I got a few levels in ninjutsu, which was always nice, Rin left for her mission, which sucks, Ryoga appeared again, so I think he will be a semi-permanent presence from now on, I got a new Cardian summon, and patched things up with Haruka.

Yeah, good day.

Not really sure what to think about the summon though, I mean, it is nice to have, and if it's half as useful as Minon it'll be a great boon. Plus, I certainly hope to finally break past lvl 02 of the Summon Cardian skill now that I have more than Minon.

What frustrated me yesterday was the fact I couldn't summon it at all, I tried for hours with increasingly frustrating results, that is, the summoning circle appeared, the timer started, but at the end there was no Cardian, and it was all just a waste of MP. At some point, I just gave up and went to sleep. (Minon complained a lot for being used as a live dakimakura, but I got used to having someone sleeping next to me damn it! I think she liked it a lot in the end, though.)

It wasn't until this morning, just as I was leaving for my morning jog that I realize my fit of retardation: Minon, she was the reason I couldn't summon the new Cardian. I only had one 'summon slot' and Minon was occupying it.

I grumbled a bit while I ran; I'm really curious about the new Cardian, but I'm not curious enough to dismiss Minon from the Illusion Barrier I left her grinding in early. I'd have to go back all that way there to deal with it as leaving it alone and having it evolve or do another unknown thing wasn't an option. So I guess it's waiting until after school to meet the new guy… Girl, why do I feel it's going to be a girl?

Anyway, it wasn't like I didn't have other things to look forwards to: I was meeting Haruka today, not to escort her to school like always (I think her school's going to be close for a while for obvious reasons.), but to join her for her own morning jog.

I never thought I could be excited to introduce someone to the joys of exercise, but I've long since stopped wondering how my life has come to this.

Haruka's house was close to my apartment, and by this point I knew the route like the back of my hand, so it was easy to get to the intersection and cross the street to enter the neighborhood where—

The second-floor window of Haruka's house _exploded_ outwards in a shower glass, flower petals, maniacal laughter.

The fuck!?

"Ohohohohohohoho!"

The figure bounced around Haruka's neighbors' houses, nothing by a greenish blur to the untrained eye. To me, however, it was easy to see they had training; they weren't like Ranma, who could practically fly, but they are clearly comfortable in the air, and it shows. Where they passed, they left a trail of… black petals…

Hold on.

I saw her pausing on top of the house next to me, and the next leap had her landing directly in front of me.

And there she was, in all her athletic curves in a tight bluish green leotard glory. Kuno Kodachi, Kuno-senpai's twisted little sister and the runner contender for Ranma's craziest fiancé… well, wanna-be-fiancé.

"I remember you!" Was the first thing she said to me, throwing her silky side ponytail over her shoulder. "You _saved_ me yesterday."

I swallowed a lump of saliva because _hot damn_ that leotard is _tight_. "I helped, yes." Frankly, I'm kinda surprised Kuno hadn't ranted to her about me and how I was clearly responsible for her state yesterday. Maybe she does remember what happened. "I'm glad to see you're already on your feet."

"Ohohohohoho! A little encounter like that is nothing for Kodachi, the black rose!" She pointed the handle of her ribbon thingy in my direction. "Still, I'm here to formally thank you for helping the jewel of the Kuno's family in her hour of need!"

Well, that's… nice of her. Maybe she's more reasonable than her brother— Oh god, I shouldn't have thought that— Hum?

Kodachi had, leaned forward, like, getting _way _inside my personal space to the point that I had to bend backward to keep the distance. She just kept looking at me with her admittedly pretty eyes.

"Um, can I help you?"

"Oh!" She gasped, immediately retreating a couple of steps before turning her back to me. She then started to mumble and fidget in place.

Ah, shit, I have a bad feeling about this; I have a _horrible_ feeling about this. In fact, I got chills. "A-Are you ok?" No, don't show compassion, you fool! Run away!

"… Oh, how life is cruel and unfair!" Her mumbling suddenly became very audible. I didn't know if she noticed or not. "After my conundrum with Haruka-sama, now this. Oh, why does my heart act so—."

She spun towards me so fast that her hair snapped in the air. I would have found her blushing face very charming if it didn't give me so much dread.

"I-I must solve the tangles of my heart, farewell!"

A gust of black rose petals somehow accompanied her as she leaped. I had to wave a hand over my face to clear my vision and was left standing alone in a now petal covered street.

W-Well… That wasn't so bad?

"NO!" It was a fiery declaration of righteous determination, one that washes away any the doubt and uncertainty one could possibly have.

Goddamn it.

I look up and to the side, and there was Kodachi again, a storm of black rose petals swirling around her in conjunction with her ribbon.

"I, Kuno Kodachi, the Black Rose, never do things half measures, nor do I let little things get in the way of my desire!" She declared to victoriously to the sky. "Morals? Constraints? Rules? Out of my way! I have something to say!"

Her ribbon, breaking all conventional rules of physics, snapped a bouquet of black roses into existence, and she launched it toward me.

"Bat-wielding Prince." The fuck did she call me!? "I love you."

Fuck.

"Goodbye for now, my love! For I must calm this confusing heart for our next encounter. But be assured we will meet again!" She very lovingly blew me a kiss and then Ohohoho'ed her way across the rooftops, leaving the trail of black petals behind her, of course.

I looked at the bouquet in my hand, and cursed again, loudly this time.

There are so many butterflies flying right now it's not even funny.

"Se-Senpai."

I turned around to see Haruka shyly exiting her house, she looked shocked, alarmed, confused, mortified, covered in petals, and _there was a_ _bouquet of black rose in her hands. _

"S-she said I had tempted her with the forbidden fruit, and that I must take responsibility." She spoke breathlessly, looking at me with wide, helpless eyes. "W-W-What do I do senpai!? I don't like girls!" So said the closet lesbian, yet her giant blush said otherwise.

Fucking Kunos man, they are more trouble than they're worth.

* * *

**A/n:** And that's it for chapter 10! It felt like it would never end...

Anyway I feel like I should explain myself for Kodachi situation, mostly to give an excuse because ah well *shrug

**Spoilers! **Do not read this if you have not yet read the chapter.

Now, Kodachi is straight in cannon, and the plan was for her to fall for Hiroshi in this chapter, predicable, but it was for chaos sake. However, there more I started writing Haruka's part, the more I though how brave she must have looked to Kodachi I couldn't get out of my head the idea to make her fall for Haruka instead.

Thing is I hate changing cannon characters for no reason, and have Kodochi suddenly go lesbian felt like a jarring thing to do.

In the end I asked myself... what would Kuno do?

Kidding, I asked myself what would be funnier, _and_ _then_ realize what Kuno would do.

So yeah, just like Tatewaki is in love with Tendo Akane and the Pigtail girl, Kodachi is in love with Tenou Haruka and the Bat-wielding prince, and no, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

I still don't like the idea of a randomly change an canon character's sexuality, but I have the iron clad excuse that Kodachi is fucking insane and I will hold on to this to my dying breath

So in summary; I did it for the lols


	11. Interlude I

This chapter happens a couple of days after chapter 10. Just to set the timeline straight.

* * *

Interlude I

Councilman Ogura Shoji— no, that's not exactly right, he's still _Secretary_ Ogura Shoji, but it's only a matter of time— led his nightly conquest into the hotel room.

They were an odd pair, the two. The dictionary definition of a dichotomy; a tall, astronomically beautiful woman who could put supermodels to shame, and a short, obese man who looked way older than he really was. Many would cry out for the unfairness of it all, but Ogura Shoji knew there was nothing more natural than this; women were attracted to money and power, so how could someone in Ogura's position be found wanting when it comes to the matters of flesh? In fact, rare were the nights he spent alone since coming to beautiful Tokyo.

Of course, now he knew that while money and power were enough to attract women, he needed a bit more to truly _conquer_ them. And conquer this one he would, oh yes, he wouldn't let a woman like this slip from his fingers. So, as much as he regretted it, he moved his grubby hand away from this specimen's marvelous rear and sent her further into the room while he turned to lock the door.

Discretely, he picked up an unlabeled capsule from his pocket and popped a single pill from it into his mouth.

And there it was. The _sensation_ he was waiting for. It never failed to shake him to his core. His heartbeat spiked sharply in his chest as liquid fire seems to pour into his veins, a sudden _weight_ grew in his torso and started to pulse power and energy into his muscles, and more importantly, his pant audibly stretched to the breaking point as his modest-sized member grotesquely swelled into the monstrous proportions that now felt more familiar than his normal one.

After taking a brief second to steady his balance, he turned, seeing his soon-to-be toy leaning over the window, the gloom of Tokyo's nightlights perfectly framing her shapely silhouette.

Oh, what a find she was! Older than what he usually goes with, but not enough to be considered a stale Christmas cake, dark, silky hair pulled with a complex yet elegant knot, loose silvery dress that did a lazy job covering the out-of-this-world curves, bluish eyes that shone playfully in the side-glance she gave him as she swayed her large, childbearing hips and presented that big, round, barely-covered ass to him.

The little minx.

Ogura let out a muffled grunt as he walked towards her, the unnatural hunger growing in his core, pushing him like never before. His touch made the woman gasp this time around, and he felt her shivering as he dragged his boated fingers over the exposed part of her back, circling them around and inside the laughable unconstrained dress so he could grab those magnify tits that almost seem to spill from her sides from the angle he was looking.

"You like that, don't you? ku ku ku." He chuckled his nasal chuckle that sounded like the peak of masculinity to his ears.

"Yes~" The woman panted as his fingers dipped and sunk into her chest's malleable flesh. Good, he thought, the faster her breathing is, the faster his new _musk_ will take hold.

He delighted himself with the sounds she made when he found the hardening nubs of her nipples and twisted them. The fabric of her dress now hung uselessly between her breasts, so he decided it needed to go. Licking over the skin of her spine, he trailed upwards until he hooked his teeth over the dress' tie on the back of her neck and pulled. It came off easily, almost like it was designed to do precisely that, and the silvery fabric quickly fell from her voluptuous form.

Ah yes, Oguro let out another of this nasal chuckle, this time trying to get his own breathing under control as his body flared up in desire. His eyes drank her vision like it was an oasis in the desert, paying special attention to the swell of her rear, a large, wonderful bubbly heart-shape framed by a very thin thong, something that had been criminally hidden from him until now.

The woman moaned, pushing her whorish ass against his crotch until her devilish soft cheeks sandwiched his enormous bulge. The overwhelming _heat_ of her core barely contained by the tiny triangle of her slutty underwear.

That was the last drop.

He seized her by the scruff of her neck and threw her to the bed, finally having a full look over her glorious, near-naked form.

Look at that clouded look! How he loved it! Confused enough to not question, yet aware enough to flare up in surprise and fear when he fishes the monster out of his pants. Once again, he mentally thanked his wonderful patrons' generosity for provide him with those wonderful pills, so many fun nights, so many yet to come.

He wiped the excess droll from his lips and practically jumped onto the bed, making sure to pin the woman under his prodigious weight as he did so— he had a few that tried to run at the sight of his monstrous member in the past— And quickly forced her legs open—drinking the view of the tiny thong along with the delicious prize it held. She was less wet then he would have imagined, but he didn't have the mind to care.

"You are mine now, my pretty- _Guh!"_

… It started in his right hand, the one that was in the process of tearing the underwear off her, to be precise. Eager fingers suddenly locked in place over the soft flesh of the woman's inner thigh, freezing when they should be ripping the offending piece of cloth instead. He wasn't even able to process what'd happened when the paralysis shot from his hand to his arm and then to his shoulder. A current of energy so powerful and so precise that it cut like a dagger of pure ice through the fires of his arousal. His heart _Bulged_ inside his chest as every muscular function of the organ activated at the same time in violently erratic patterns.

Ogura would have gasped in pain if he was capable of doing anything at that moment.

The single, longest second of the would-be-Councilman Ogura Shoji's life passed, and nothing else came for him after it. With heart stopped and his mind blank, the obese corpse fell over the Taimanin.

Uehara Rin slowly blinked at the ceiling of the hotel's room, needing a moment to process what had just happened. She dipped her eyes down to the fat shoulder pressing against her chin, feeling the weight the slightly smoky corpse put over her body. No movement save for the twitching after-effects of the shock, definitely no pulse or heartbeat.

Her target was dead.

With the same effort one would do to move a bedsheet from their bodies, Rin casually flipped the obese mass to the side. It rolled from the bed and knocked over the nightstand as it crashed meaty to the floor. Still, the Taimanin pay no attention to it, her thoughts lost somewhere else as she slowly pushed herself to her feet and mechanically made her way to the bathroom to wash away the demonic-infused sweat before it could overcome the protections she'd set up.

She has killed her target… But it wasn't supposed to be like this.

Oh, she was always going to kill him, of course. Ogura Shoji's life was condemned from the moment he stepped into this room… but she was supposed to _pleasure_ him first, to drag him into an endless pit of ecstasy and take advantage of his vulnerable state make him confess what he knew; secrets of the party, the name of his associates, his demonic patrons… This room had been meticulously prepared with a series of jutsu and spells to soothe his mind and encourage talking for this very purpose.

Yet she has killed him before he could properly have his way with her. A premature murder, a failure in all aspects… it was the first time she failed in this kind of assignment.

And she couldn't even tell why she'd done it. She just... reacted.

Rin finished reapplying the lipstick and popped her lips together to actuate the color. She allowed herself a brief sigh before exiting the bathroom, walk over to collect the expensive piece of silvery rag that passed as dress these days, and wrap it around her body. She let out another, longer, sigh as she saw that the piece amount to basically twin straps over her chest and a pelvic curtain that let her legs completely bare.

Dreadfully airy.

Without even looking at the corpse, Uehara Rin exited the room. The door closed behind her and completed the form of an Ofuta paper that was placed on its edges, activating its effects.

The new jutsu would conceal the room until the appropriate time for the body to be discovered.

-0-0-0-

The Yukihiro golden tower was quickly becoming one of the most sought after luxury hotels in Tokyo city. While it lacked the age and renown of its competitors, it made up for it with extravagant rooms and installations equipped with the best money could buy for both comfort and technology. That, combined with the optics of a strapping newcomer trying to complete with the more traditional and established hotel chains did wonder to catch people's attention.

What better place to commemorate a new political party that was steadily growing in popularity and trying to compete with older, more establish parties than a hotel that was basically doing the same? Rin pondered about this dynamic while she rode the elevator downward to the fourth floor, rather than directly going back to the party hall. She strode into the maze of corridors with confident steps, assured that she wouldn't stumble with any bystanders along the way. The entire hotel had been booked for tonight's celebration, so there shouldn't be anyone inside that isn't supposed to be here, she and her teammates included.

She made a brief round across the corridor, making sure there wasn't anyone close that would stumble on her as she moved to her destination. As soon as she was sure, she turned her mental gaze inside herself, focusing on the inconsistencies about the size and length of the corridors, before forming a quick hand seal and muttering a released chant. When she opened her eyes, she saw a corner of the corridor she couldn't even perceive before.

Now, to actually _open_ the door to room number 412, another short ritual was required. Still, she blazed through the brief, but deviously tricky process with a single-mindedness that could only be achieved after years of practice.

It was dark inside, the lights were turned off, the heavy curtains were drawn tightly together, but otherwise, the room wasn't any different what one would find in this area of the hotel, save for the faint musky scent of sex that still hung in the air, but was already being filtered by the AC.

Rin found her current team leader sitting by the desk, her naked skin gleaming in the laptop's screen glow. She ignored the three drowned corpses by the bed and made her way toward her.

"Report." Her leader asked without turning her head. Her tone was professional, but there was a hint of levity there, a consideration for her fellow veteran, perhaps?

"… This one was unable to find anything useful. My deepest apologies."

To her surprise, Rin found herself saying that rather than admitting her mistake, which she certainly would have done before… before Nerima.

The other taimanin in the room interpreted her moment's hesitation in her own way, and flashed her a grin.

"You are too hard on yourself sometimes, Rin-san." Mizuki Shiranui, the Taimanin of the Crashing Waves, leaned back, making the leather chair creak under her weight. The healthy bosom that matched and even surpassed Rin's own swayed pendulously in her following chuckle. "They're politicians. There is always more dirt to be found with that lot. We'll find a better target next time."

"…Yes." And there would undoubtedly be a next time; a true taimanin must use her body just as much she uses her blade, for the good of the corp.

The corp…

_"…Dumb bitch." _

She shook these thoughts from her head; a mission isn't time for uncertainties.

"More importantly, watch this." Shiranui reached out and tapped a few times on the laptop keys. A video feed of another hotel room, one where their last teammate was performing her duties appeared, it has been muted, but the definition of the image was startling.

"That's… impressive," Rin admitted. She wasn't one for technology because she used to fry any that got too close before she could get her powers under control, and never got in the habit after she did. Still, she noticed that this laptop was… much slender than the bulky ones she'd seen in the market. Corp assets, maybe?

"I know, right?" Her leader's grin got a little wicked. "Now, not only we'll have audio brides, but we'll have some interesting videos as well. I'm sure the public would love to see what their, very respectfully married, politicians do on their downtime."

"… Did you that for every room?" Rin gave words to her growing apprehension.

"Wasn't possible due to the timeframe, only a single one." She shrugged. "So, I thought it'd be better in the room where the guy needs to get out alive."

_Of course_, Rin thought while she focused on the video. Yoshida Toranosuke, the man they are supposed to escort and make sure he leaves the party unharmed. His protection is the mission's primary objective with any opportunity for information gathering or demon slaying planned around it. As its often the case for this type of mission, the best way to do it was to seduce him away from the danger to a secure location prepared beforehand, then keep him happy and distracted with something no men can resist. The video of the act might even be useful later, after he grows his influence within the party.

Rin watched the young man convulsed in pleasure as he tried and failed to match the pace of the taimanin riding him. She was young, this one, only three missions under her belt, but had high praise from those who work with her. Rin could detect hesitation on her carnal techniques, though. It must be why she was chosen for this role; a taimanin must become comfortable with using her body early if they wish to have a prosperous career.

… Even though there are much better ways to use her body, Rin has come to find out, a heat blossoming in her chest as her thoughts drifted towards her Aruji…

She pushed these thoughts back and focused back on the mission… but she got to admit it the subject just seems to frustrate her more and more.

"…It's a waste." She couldn't hold her voice in, so she gestured at the screen and clarified. "This mission. She could have done it on her own."

And it's true; protection mission in a political party with minimal demonic influence; well within the parameters for the new girl, but to give that to Uehara Rin… even with her recent record, was among the top taimanin of the current generation for a reason, and Mizuki Shiranui was a living legend. They should have been assigned to something more important.

Her leader's eyes shone in an odd way as she cocked her head to face her "Ara? That's unlike you, Rin-san. Are you questioning our superiors' decision?"

Rin blinked. She just did that, didn't she? She doesn't remember doing that since… ever

Shiranui waved her off before she could explain herself.

"I agree completely. I don't know exactly what the council is thinking, but this mission is far below our level." The taimanin threw her arms back and over her head, locking together her fingers as she stretched so much her back arched from the chair and her colossal chest bounced powerfully. "Still, I don't dislike missions like that once or twice." She added with a smile.

And the reason was obvious for anyone who knew the woman; it was the exact reason some of the more veteran taimanin prefer to slow down after a certain point. Rin cleared her throat, wondering if she should bring that up. She and Shiranui aren't _exactly _friends, more like friends of friends. Reiko was the one that was closer but now… she made her decision.

"How… How is Yukikaze?" Rin was glad she's managed to remember the name halfway through.

Her question had a… drastic effect on her leader, so much so Rin had to blink when she saw it. In a single moment, the Taimanin of the Crashing Waves went from her relaxed, casual posture to almost bouncing off the chair with excited energetic.

"She's _adorable!_ I started her training, you know, she picked up fast, as I knew she would. Now she's stalking around the house trying to hide in tight spaces while following her dad around, and it so darn _cute!_ Oh, how I struggle not to flip her up and hug her when she tries it on me, but its sooo worth it in the end when she _preens_ at the dinner table and goes all 'Mama, I have bested you!', kyahhh! Her little smug smile and blushing cheeks make me _explode_ each time!"

And just like that, her impressive, professional, controllably casual leader was gone, and what left with her place was an overly proud, broadly smiling mother who couldn't help but to prattle on and on about her daughter. She wouldn't look like she'd be out of place in a cafeteria, gossiping among friends, her naked state, and hypnotic bounce notwithstanding.

"T-…This one sees." Was all Rin could make out from the barrage.

"That reminds me, Rin-san!" The enthusiastic mother was suddenly on her feet, grasping one of Rin's hand.

"Ye… Yes?" She asked, not managed to look away from the shining magenta eyes.

"Could you please help Yuki-chan with her powers?"

… It took a second for her to process the request; it was not what she was expecting. "Her power is related to electricity?"

"She hasn't manifested yet, but a mother knows." Shiranui's smile turned a bit cheeky. "That, and she already fried two of those little handheld game of hers. I remember Reiko-chan commending something about you having—" She stopped suddenly, her mouth clapping together.

"It's alright..." Rin gave her a genuine smile to ease her worries. "This one would be honored to tutor your daughter, Shiranui-san, she'll do what I can to help."

"Rin-san…" The older woman shook her head, a different kind of smile present on her face. She transferred her hands to Rin's shoulders. "I'm glad to see you're doing better."

Doing better… That's right; things are more complicated so _so_ much more complicated now… but she's doing better.

"I guess I found a reason to fight." She found herself saying.

Shiranui flinched, looking almost startled. "F-First person—"

Training and experience are what kicked in next. Two veterans Taimanin perceived a relevant change in the immediate environment, and they both simultaneously turned to the laptop screen. Seeing that the last Taimanin throw herself from the near-unconscious young man and was putting a show of a surprise, meek woman pulling the sheets over her naked form, at the edge of the screen, Rin could see the shape of two men moving.

"Trouble," Rin said unnecessarily.

Shiranui nodded with a note of cheerfulness. "So it seems we should get going then. Yoshida-san needs to be relocated."

"…Shiranui-san, please put your clothes on before you leave the room."

-0-0-0-

They were standing on the rooftop of an office building. The hotel they'd just been through shining in the background. Mizuki Shiranui put a foot on the edge, leaning her body forwards and drawing a breath from Tokyo's thick urban air, her short brown hair blowing in the cutting wind.

"Little incident there at the end, but the client is safe, the main objective is complete, and we got a lot of useful information about this new political party and all their dirty business. That's a win in my book," She turned to look at her team with a smile. "Good work, girls."

"Yes!"/ "Yes!" Two nearly identical followed, Shiranui chuckled; they're both so formal.

"Alright, you know what to do, lay low, keep out of trouble, keep moving. I want the report delivered in due time."

Once again, she received affirmation, which she nodded to. Finally, she turned around and, with the barest flickers of her leg muscles, launched herself into the next building, where she neatly disappeared amidst the shadows of the night.

Rin relaxed some tension from her shoulders. The disbanding phase of a Taimanin mission— where each took off in different directions to different safe houses to avoid being followed— was associated with the passing of the most critical part of the mission in her head, so he allowed herself to wind down for a bit, and have her first real look at the last member of her team.

Igawa Asagi was her name, Taimanin Asagi, no epithet _yet_, the latest of an ancient and influential Taimanin family and daughter of another living legend on the caliber of Mizuki Shiranui. Rin had the honor of working with the girl's mother on a few occasions before her mysterious disappearance, and she could safely say the girl was her mother's spitting image, only younger and… less sure of herself.

The girl was looking at the distance; right hand on left arm, hugging herself close… no, that was not exactly it.

"Are you ok?" Rin asked, attracting a brief look of surprise.

"Yes, Uehara-senpai, thank you for your concern." She responded with a bow, but it was clear it wasn't everything. Rin could practically see the words unwillingly forcing their way out. "It's just… I…Um…"

"Was it the mission? Your role in it?"

The girl paused for a couple of seconds and then nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rin asked, already predicting the reason.

The girl curled over herself a tiny bit, her shoulders shaking, from the cold, or from the discomfort. Rin didn't know, but she wasn't surprised by what came next.

"I have a boyfriend." The girl admitted quietly.

One of the most common conflicts of a Taimanin— of a kunoichi in general. It had become much more prevalent nowadays, in modern times, as the women involved with the business aren't waiting for their retirement anymore, and can actually choose partners outside of a restricted pool. Rin lost count of how many times she was in this position, having this exact conversation.

Naturally, the response was at the tip of her tongue. It was easy, logical, and straightforward. She'd spoke variations of the same sentences many times in the past, most of the time, they were enough to comfort the girls, they were usually well trained enough that being reminded of their role was enough to drown any concerns, and if they weren't, then they learn to deal with it.

The words, arguments about the duty of a Taimanin, about the vows they took, gathered her throat… and refused to get out.

She… _knows _now, the difference between using her body for missions and…not for them. She never thought that sex, the carnal act she long since made into an art to entertain, and a weapon to use, could hold so _much meaning_ that she…

… She couldn't bear the fact her body would have been used by that pig of a man of before. No, the thought of lying with any men other than her Aruji formed a pit of revulsion inside her belly. She never felt anything like it; it was if she would be sullying something… precious.

Hypocrite, she thought, after so much time arguing the necessity and validity of their methods, she never once stopped to consider the other side.

The younger Taimanin didn't notice Rin's internal conflict; she just lowered her head to the side.

"I know what you're going to say, Uehara-senpai. That it is my duty, that it is what I've been trained for. I know its all in the name of the Corp but—"

_"…ious, you dumb bitch." _

_"Fuck…" _The words erupted from Rin's mouth, and she bit down the rest before they could make their way out.

For a moment, there was only a shocked silence hanging between them.

"Senpai?"

"… We must strive to fulfill our duty, yes. But there are less obvious, sometimes more efficient ways to do that." Rin began, getting surer as she went on. "Take this mission, for example, the main objective was the protection of Yoshida Toranosuke during the party, but we did not need to seduce him to do so, or at least, did not need to do the act, with the right preparations he could have been placed in induced sleep, maybe even with a tailored carnal dream for effect. That way, it would have left you ready for any surprises. You might have even been able to intercept those corrupted humans before they entered the room. As it is, we managed to acquire information that might be useful in the future, but considering the size and influence of the party, it might be in the _far_ future if it still holds up at all. So a tertiary objective at best." That was enough for most Taimanin; Rin had preached the same in the past. "There are more ways to go about a mission Taimanin Asagi. You must take them into consideration each time you are in the field."

The young woman considered these words, and Rin found herself doing the same, even though they came from her.

"Rin-senpai… Thank you." She looks down with a rueful smile, before glancing up again. She looked better, less tense. Rin was glad her improvised speech was of some help. "… It would be nice to know about that early, though." The girl muttered under her breath, but Rin heard it even over the wind.

The older Taimanin sighed.

"That said, we must still follow the leader's directive, and trying to argue against Mizuki Shiranui about the merit of seduction objectives is an exercise in futility, she is extremely fond of the tactic, a bit too much for her own good." To be fair, it's not without reason. Even specializing in the annihilation of the demonic, Taimanin are remarkably adept in the art of seduction, even more so than the common kunoichi, so they usually get excellent results from it. Rin suspected it was something about the tendency Taimanin have to be more… shapely than most women, and she remembers Shiranui saying something along the lines of _'It'd be a waste not to use it!'_ once.

Asagi blushed, clearly having heard some stories herself. Shiranui's carnal escapades are just as famous as her battle prowess. Rin could only hope young Yukikaze grows up to have more sense. "Um, I don't get it. Doesn't she have a husband?"

Rin signed, _that_ subject again. "There are three types of men in a relationship with a Taimanin; the ones that know full well what their role demand from them and accept it." Usually being Taimanin themselves. "The ones who know nothing, or don't know very much about it." Her lips tightened a bit at that. Aruji-sama… "And then, there is Shiranui's husband… Let's just say he likes to hear the details of what his wife gets up to."

"…O-Oh."

Once again, silence reined between the two women. But this time, it was broken by a giggle.

Rin's more sedated laughter joined the young woman's at some point. There was still a lot in their minds, and there was a lot left unsaid between them. But it did raise their spirits.

And for this moment, that was all they needed.

-0-0-0-

Of course, the night, and technically the mission, hasn't ended yet.

It would only end when Rin got to the safehouse and hunker down for a while as the dust settled. Granted, there isn't much dust to settle this time around, but Rin didn't get where she was by not being careful.

So that's why she was hopping from rooftop to rooftop across, blending into corners and shadows as she traveled in a seemly random route.

Rin was a picture of a professional Taimanin, stoic, beautiful, eyes scanning all they could see while deciding on invisible routes for her body to follow, absolutely picturesque.

Her thoughts, however, were a mess.

Without the mission or a companion to help her focus, she kept looking back on her performance on hotel, her conversations with Shiranui and Asagi, the way she acted…

Her heart raced more and more she realized how she came off to them. What was she thinking!? Was she so unbalanced that she blatantly displayed her thoughts like that!? Apparently so, and not only to her long time comrade, who certainly noticed something amiss but also to an _entirely new Taimanin_ she didn't even know! If Asagi so much whisper something to their superiors there would be an investigation, and Aruji-sama would…

Aruji-sama...

…It all came back to him, Ōe Hiroshi, the boy, no, the young man who crashed into her life and turned everything upside down. Rin wasn't stupid; she could see how their meeting and his continuous presence had affected her so much. It has been the wrong period of her life, right out of a stream of increasingly disastrous missions that saw her pushing her abilities to the limit just to avoid the worst fate, having to face multiple punishments and the wider consequences of her failures afterward, all culminating in the sacrifice of someone she cared deeply about. In the end, she, a Taimanin with years under her belt suffered something she always thought herself too strong to go through, a complete mental breakdown.

It was almost poetic that she met him right on the day after it, waking up in his home no less.

Then, he saved her, pure and single, she was ready to give up, almost relieved really, but he fought for her anyway, powering through chemicals that would incapacitate any unprepared civilian just to have a shot at saving her.

At that moment, she… woke up, was that the right expression? A spark of… purpose had lit up inside her breast, and weeks of spiraling depression that would certainly result in her death on her next mission were push back for it; she had to make Nerima safe for him, it was her responsibility.

Yet… by that time, she was already captivated.

She became invisible during the day, looking for clues where none would, yet her eyes followed him wherever he went, watching as he lent his help to everyone he met without discrimination or hesitation. She probed for rumors and information in the dark, and yet tales about his kind actions and how quickly he integrated himself in a close community came up just as frequently as suspicious places and odd disappearances. She watched him sleep at night and it became harder and harder to convince herself it was only for his protection.

And in the end, she…

She…

_"Isn't it obvious? You dumb bitch." _

Was in pieces again.

Isn't any wonder then that she immediately scurried back to the closest thing she had to a pillar at that moment, the only thing in her life that made some semblance of sense? She wasn't thinking right. In fact, there wasn't any kind of rationality involved when she went to see him that night. She was just unnaturally hot, and tired, and emotional and… needing to be close to _someone._

And he pulled her closer than anyone had and rebuilt her from the ground up, and he didn't even realize he'd done it.

For then on, her days were nothing but joy.

She hit the rooftop of her safe house, almost stumbling in her last step. She was unbalanced like never before, and she knew it. Her mission had brought her down to reality and forced her to confront what she was putting off all that time; her new life with her Aruji is incompatible with her life as a Taimanin, she was certain of that now, tonight was nothing but proof of that, how could she perform well as a weapon of the Taimanin Corp if she wants to be wielded by another? Is the Corp even…

I-Is the Corp even…

_The smell of blood, ozone, and unspeakable chemicals were thick in the air of the warehouse. Bloated bodies and scarred appendices littered the floor. In the middle of it all, a sinful row of naked women tied side by side in moaning, yipping heap as the rogue particles in the airs stimulated their already over-stimulated bodies into new heights. They pumped their hips in the air, seeking to be filled, not even noticing the state of their captors._

_On a throne of blades and welded metal, a monster of an orc sat; large, fat, powerful, before this night, he was a shining example of his race, now; his arms and legs hung cauterized by his sides, his barrel chest was crisscrossed with a tapestry of Lichtenberg scars and struggled to pull even the smallest of breaths, and his once-proud manhood now sat mutilated across the room._

_Uehara Rin stood, panting above him. Her uniform hanging by straps, every cut and wound burning with unnatural poison, her core raging with the fires of a powerful, artificially created arousal that fought to overwhelm her very consciousness, yet she stood firm, keeping lighting blade humming against the creature neck. She had to know._

_"I've closed every door, erased every trance, clouded every memory before I came to Nerima. No one but the council themselves knew my location. So tell me, how did you find me?" She demanded. _

_The orc laughed a cruel, drawn-out, evil laughter of the ones that would curse as they fall. Then, he rasped out the words that would stick in her mind and gnaw at her thoughts in every moment of weakness from then on._

_"Isn't it obvious? You dumb bitch." _

Is the Taimaning corp even _worthy_ of her services?

She shook her head and tightened her mask of composure, striding across the empty corridor of the tiny building with a purpose she didn't feel. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to write a report, or face whatever investigation Shiranui or Asagi would throw at her. She wanted to go back to Nerima, to the arms of her Aruji-sama, where her days are bright, simple, and so wonderfully fun. Her—

She stopped her hand in the process of turning the door handle. In a single moment, all her conflicted thoughts melded away to give place to combat instincts.

Her sword let out a quiet hum as the blade of concentrated lightning journeyed across the door. The low-quality wood came apart like a jigsaw puzzle as she bashed her body through it, her hand seizing the neck of the figure waiting for her inside and slamming them against the opposite wall.

It didn't even take a second.

"GA-H!" The figure let out a raspy gasp, their throat locked inside Rin's tight grip. _"Guu- H-Hey, What gives— WUAH!"_ Was their reaction when they noticed the tip of Rin's lighting sword pointing straight at their nose. "Wait, Wait, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle! I give! I give! Don't kill meeee!"

…

… It took all her experience to keep her composure. Rin was used to demons acting unexpectedly and even holding on tightly to their human disguises in moments of high stress in order to get a Taimanin to lower their guard. But it's the first time Rin saw one so… pathetic-looking.

The maybe-demon/definitely-home-invader was a woman of her age, wearing a dark, three pieces suit with a bright red tie. She wore her strawberry blonde hair in a branch that fell down her shoulders and her emerald green eyes were wide with fear due to the proximity of the sword. Now she was frantically apologizing and making excuses while her expression and mannerisms twisted and squirmed in an over-the-top, almost comical way. Some of her tears and boogers dripped down to Rin's hand.

She didn't let go; she was a professional after all… but ew.

"Who are you!?" Rin hissed. Bringing the tip of her swords close to the woman's skin.

"I-err-you see-_HIHHH,_ _Scarylightsaber!_" She jumped as a tiny arc of lightning shot from Rin's sword to the woman's cheek. "Alright, Alright! You win! You win! Little help here, boss? BOSS!?"

Rin frowned. If this woman thinks she would fall for such cheat trick she had another thing coming—

"Well, now."

Uehara Rin, a veteran taimanin known by her enemies and allies as the Sparkly Taimanin.

Froze.

"I told you she wouldn't like to find you inside her safehouse, my dear subordinate-sempai, no matter how 'epic' your dramatic appearance would have been. Ku ku ku."

"M-Mou! S-Stop calling me subordinate-sempai! M-My poor self esteem can't handle this kind of abuse, you know!?" The blonde woman whined.

Rin was… Rin was eighteen years old again; it was her second time leading a team of her own, and her first truly major mission. She tracked down a child trafficking route from Japan to its roots in Thailand's city of chaos, figured out the identity of the demon leading the operation, and mounted an attack.

When she and her team arrived at the facility… there wasn't a facility anymore.

And the demon, an enormous pit fiend… was weeping like a child.

Her lightning blade disappeared; she reversed her grip on her bladeless sword handle and struck the blonde woman on the side of her head, robbing her of consciousness. In the same movement, she twisted on her heels, her second sword handle going to her hand while she reactivated the blades and faced the new threat.

He was standing by the door, the lights of the corridor casting deep shadows over his form. A man of unremarkable height and unremarkable build, wearing the same three piece suit and tie as the blonde woman who now lay unconscious on the floor. Rin could see the outline of that distinct light blue hair that could only belong to one person and felt the _intensity_ of the two shining dots that gleamed at her from the shadows.

"Ah, must you be so rough with my subordinate-sempai? It was just a harmless prank, you know?"

These eyes, this weight… There was no doubt about it.

"Ayasaki Hayate." She spoke the name of the man who once did the impossible and ruled the city of chaos, Roanapur itself, with iron firsts. "You're supposed to be dead."

"A common mistake, my dear, you are not the first one, nor will be the last one to make it. As you can see, I'm certainly not dead, I merely had an explosive job interview, and the rest of the world got confused." He shook his head softly as if reminiscing about a funny joke. "But let's not bore ourselves talking about me when_ you _are the most interesting person in the room." He smiled. "You are a hard woman to find Uehara Rin-san."

Rin tightened her grip on her weapons, arc of lightning starting to spark around her.

"Why are you here, Asure Viper?" She quietly twirled on the sole of her left foot, solidifying her stance and losing the hidden blade she keeps there, just in case. "If killing is your objective than this one assures you; she will not be a easy prey."

The mercenary cocked his head to the side, his shadowy features forming a broad, slithering smile that sent a chill down Rin's spine.

"Kill you? My dear, I'm not here to kill you."

"I'm here to _recruit_ you."


End file.
